The Unexpected Gift
by SummersRain04
Summary: Season 6 AU. When Giles leaves he completely cuts himself off from her not knowing that she was carrying a secret that would have given him a reason to stay. Buffy swears everyone to secrecy but one of them defies her and tells him everything. Very first fanfic, please read and review. B/G
1. Part 1

The Unexpected Gift

 **Disclaimer:-** I own nothing but the imagination. Joss etc own the characters and the rights

 **A/N:-** My first fan fic. Season 6 AU but following the same basic storyline. I will be using some of the same dialogue from the episodes. No idea how far I'm going with this we'll just have to wait and see.

 **Summary:-** Buffy and Giles were together and happy, then she died, when she came back she brought something with her that brings Giles back to her.

 **Reviews:-** Yes please, even the flames, after all how will I improve without criticism :)

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Prologue

"I'm not sacrificing my sister Giles, I can't" She said staring at him from across the room,

"She's a part of me, the monks made her out of me" she hugged herself wishing that she was still in his arms, the scent of him still on and around her as she hugged his shirt tighter to herself.

"Do you think I feel good about this? Do you think I want to even think it?" he shouted at her as he launched himself up from the couch. Striding across the room only wearing his trousers, the mood shifting from blissed relaxation to anger and frustration again. Sighing he took her in his arms and crushed her to his chest, his chin resting on her crown,

"I don't want to loose you love, I can't"

"If we stop the ritual from starting then you won't have to" she said wrapping her arms around him rubbing her cheek on his chest. They could hear the others arriving behind the door, Tara complaining about being there.

He pulled back and took her face in his hands, "But if we can't then it won't stop until Dawn dies, you know this. I wish to God I was wrong but,"

"Yeah I know, I can feel it remember" she gave him a small sad smile and placed her hands on his, pulling them away from her face she gripped them as she sent her feelings through the bond, the surprise bonus to their union.

She was accepting his opinion but was resolute on not sacrificing Dawn. He also felt her love for him, something that still took his breath away even now after over a year together. Suddenly he was angry as he sensed the direction of her thoughts – acceptance of her 'gift' _my gift is death remember_.

"No" he ground out angrily and tried to pull away from her but she used her strength to keep him there, standing on her tip toes she pulled his head down to kiss him and he snapped.

He pulled her up and took her mouth trying to convey his love and frustration by savagely thrusting his tongue into her mouth.

She pulled him tighter to her as she tried to put all her love and need for him into the kiss, moaning against his mouth as he lifted her and pushed her against the wall.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and ground down on his arousal making him growl as he pushed back, his hand moving between them as he slipped a finger into her wetness, groaning as he felt how ready she was. His lips moved to her throat as he sucked and nibbled down to her collar bone, unbuttoning his jeans and pulling the zipper down he moved his cock to her opening and pulled her down onto it, moaning as he felt her slick channel clamp around him as he took her mouth, swallowing the groan.

At the back of his mind he knew he should be using a condom but right now he didn't care, he wanted to feel her, without barriers, his passion clouded mind just wanted her damn the consequences.

He pounded into her, hard and fast, and within a few thrusts he felt Buffy come, tightening around him as she bit down on his shoulder to muffle the scream.

The feel of her shuddering in release and the sudden pain of her bite sent him over the edge and he muffled his groan in her neck as he emptied his seed into her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Giles closed his eyes to the memory as he stared at the broken body of his lover.

He had felt her love for him as he had ended the life of Glory's human form and then he heard her in his head, _Giles, the vortex is open, I'm sorry I was too late_ then she had shut him out. Panicking he had run outside and saw the vortex of energy and the figure falling through it.

His heart clenched in his chest as he finally felt her, her pain nearly knocking him over as it rushed over and through him and then it was gone, leaving behind an emptiness and he had known she was dead.

He stood there, tears falling as he stared at her. Then he was moving towards her, collapsing next to her, he shakily held his hand out and felt for a pulse, knowing there was none. He gathered her into his arms as he heard the others crying, he didn't care about them right now.

He picked her up and walked away, back to the magic shop, where he placed her on the couch in the training room closing his eyes to the memories of earlier he wept for his lost love well into the night.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 1

 _Tell Giles I love him, that he made me happier than I have ever been and I wish there was a way I could stay_

He still heard Dawn telling him those words. The look on her face, surprise that there had been something between them and sorrow for her sister and what they had obviously lost, sitting with him on the couch in Buffys home after the others had left, the funeral over with, memories of them together washing over him in great swells of sadness tinged with the happiness he had had. Her words had barely registered so she repeated them and held him as he broke down.

He took a shuddering breath and lifted the scotch that was ever present in his hand. His mind already seeing her at the base of the tower, so still after being so alive with passion under him an hour before, her eyes so expressive and bright were closed never to open again. He closed his eyes and remembered her happy smiling face, her hair fanned around her head as she lay on his pillow, sleeping, moaning, laughing, how beautiful she was in the morning light as she slept across his chest, her warmth and love.

Tears falling onto his cheeks he downed the rest of the scotch and stood up, scrubbing his face as if he could move the memories from his head. It had been three months since he had lost the other half of himself and since his return to England he had allowed himself to wallow in his grief, hiding the extent of it from the others so they didn't see his true feelings for his slayer, only Dawn saw his pain, only Dawn knew what had happened.

 _Tell Giles I love him…...I wish there was a way I could stay_

"I love you and wished you'd stayed too" he whispered staring out at the world that she had saved at the cost of her life and their future.

He had no idea how long he had stood there and only noticed the stiffness in his legs when he heard the phone ring.

"Hullo" he answered not caring how his voice sounded hollow.

"Giles?" Willow was scared at the dead tone in his voice.

"Willow? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, well nothing wrong anyway, it's just we did something, Xander, Anya, Tara and I, not bad, good, at least I think it was good, I was hoping to do it while you were still here but then you left and..."

"Willow, just tell me" he said sighing as he stopped the familiar Willow babble in mid flow.

"Buffys back"

He wasn't sure he had heard her right, shaking his head he looked at the phone as if he was making sure it was really happening.

"Giles? Are you still there? Are you ok?" Willow was worried after hearing nothing but silence.

"I'm sorry what did you say?"

"Buffys back, we brought her back"

"I'm coming home" He had barely managed to get the words out and hang up before he broke down, half of him elated beyond words but the other half angry that they had done this.

Pulling himself together he began the preparations to go home.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episode is Flooded**

Chapter 2

She'd been back a week and was already fighting again. Some demony thing that came with her or was a result of the spell Will used, she didn't know the specifics nor did she care.

She had told Spike where she had been, not because she wanted to but because she had needed to say it out loud, she didn't really think of Spike as someone or thing that mattered so he didn't count.

Now she was staring up at a leaky pipe with a wrench in her hand,

 _I've been pulled out of Heaven for this! Really!_

"Want me to call a plumber?" Dawn asked as she sat half way up the basement stairs, phone in hand.

Buffy turned the pipe "No"

"You sure? Got the number" she waved the phone in the air.

"Dawn I'm on it ok" Buffy said turning to face her sister, getting annoyed now.

Dawn shrugged and watched as she turned the pipe one more time.

Buffy smiled in triumph then slumped as the groaning clanking sound coming from the pipes turns in to an explosion of water.

Dawn got blasted by a jet and ran upstairs screaming.

"Shit"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Buffy was standing in the kitchen staring at the water flowing out of the tap, not as powerful as it once was. Her mind registered the others talking but she wasn't paying attention to them. Instead she was flitting between memories, Giles and Heaven, she missed them both.

Willow turned the tap off looking at her with concern, she looked up just as Xander appeared from the basement with another guy.

He handed Willow a bill and walked off. Buffy couldn't understand the problem, Will was acting like the price of a full re-pipe was worrying,

"What's the big deal, we just pay him" she said staring at her friends.

They exchanged looks, "Er Buffy, I know you're still trying to get back on your feet and all but we need to have a talk"

"About what?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She wished she hadn't asked. Apparently she was broke, no money coming in and according to Anya she was haemorrhaging money through the house.

 _Maybe I_ _ **should**_ _burn the house down and collect the insurance_ she thought as she walked to the bank, _applying for a loan sounds great but how am I gonna pay it back?_

She was talking to the loan officer when all hell broke loose,

 _He had to me about my job didn't he_

The demon was big and ugly like they all were but Buffy managed to beat him back, after she had cut open her skirt to do it. She had even gone back to the loan officer and tried to get him to pay her for saving his life, like Anya had suggested, but it turned out the bank had been robbed while she was fighting.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They all convened at the Magic Box so they could research the demon that had attacked the bank, Buffy decided to vent her frustration and anger on the punching bag in the training room.

Willow prattled on in the back ground and she forced herself to focus on her voice.

"….What kind of system is that?" she asked

"You're asking the wrong gal" she said as she steadied the bag before resuming her punches.

"Hey, you're mad"

She stopped punching, "You noticed, it'll pass"

"No..anger is a..big, powerful emotion you should feel"

She stopped punching, _why do I have to feel any emotion,_ "well….that's good then"

She stood there steadying the bag with her hands and shrugged, "It's gone now"

"No! Er let me make you mad again" Willow frowns as she tried to think of something, then it hit her, "Last semester of freshman year, I slept with Riley"

"And you know I doubt that, you were with Tara" Buffy said looking at her dubiously, "besides I wasn't with Riley then remember"

"Oh yeah, ha ha well obviously a lie to….to….cover up the steamy affair I had with Angel"

"Will, what the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to piss you off"

"True, why?"

"'Cause, you know, you haven't exactly been big with the emotions since you came back"

Buffy carefully arranged her face into a blank look, "What do you mean?"

Fidgeting Willow started to explain then gave up, backing away until she sat back down again.

Buffy just starts punching again, _why would I show emotions to the people who betrayed me? I'm struggling through the next minute just to breath, just to survive against the shit that is now my life and she wants me to show emotions!_

After a while they went back to join the others just as Dawn held up a book with a picture of the demon that had attacked the bank.

"You do research now? Want a pack of cigarettes and a cappuccino to go with it?"

"Would you just look at it"

"Doesn't exactly fit the profile of your typical bank robber" Xander said

"Maybe they turned down his loan" Buffy said giving Willow a small smile, "but that's him, big bad. He was strong guys, no weapons that I could see….." she looked up and saw Giles walking towards her, her mouth finished the sentence without the help of her brain which was being flooded with memories of her time spent with Giles, "Still….real…..dangerous"

The others turned to look at what she was staring at as she started to walk forward until she was face to face with Giles.

"Oh God, Buffy" he said smiling as he pulled her into a hug.

She hugs him back and closes her eyes, _he's here, I'm finally home_.

"You're alive, you're here and you're still remarkably strong"

"Huh? Oh…..sorry" she let go and stood back.

"Willow told me but I didn't let myself believe"

"I take a little getting used to…..I'm still getting used to me"

"It's uh….you're"

"A miracle?"

"Yes, but then I always thought so"

He cupped her cheek with his hand and looked into her eyes. She carefully shuttered them so he wouldn't see her pain, any of it, he was always so good at reading her.

They walked back to the training room, Buffy avoiding eye contact with the others as she followed Giles. Shutting the door behind her she turned and looked at him, he moved towards her as if to kiss her but she looked down and moved to the couch not seeing the hurt puzzled expression on his face.

She couldn't kiss him, the carefully constructed wall she had built to hide everything from her friends was already weak from his touch, one kiss and it would crumble and so would she.

He moved over to the punching bag giving it a gentle tap, "So…." _why did she move away from me?_ Giles thought as he looked at her.

"I'll start, how was England? How was….life?"

 _Avoidance. She's hiding something. Ok, I'll play it her way._

"I'm not sure how to answer that, um, well I..I arrived home. I met with the council"

"Fun times" She said looking down so he wouldn't see the hurt _England is home now, not me_ she thought sadly.

"Yes. Otherwise there's, uh, nothing really to uh report. I keep a flat in Bath. Met up with a few old friends, almost made a new one which I think is…..statistically impossible for a man of my age" he shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the couch next to her not missing the almost imperceptible flinch as it hit.

 _What happened to her?_

"And now you're back" she said looking up at him as he moved closer.

"Yes"

"Wow Giles are you miserable about it or just really British?"

He smiled at her teasing, _I missed this,_ he took his glasses off,

"I can't lie to you Buffy," he sat next to her and noticed as she stiffened slightly, choosing to ignore it he carried on,

"Um….leaving Sunnydale was, uh, difficult. And coming back was uh….."

"I'm guessing the word is...inconvenient?"

"Bewildering"

She looked down and felt his hand on her shoulder, _he's warm, I only ever feel cold but he's warm,_ she resisted the urge to shrug him off.

"And how are you? Really? You look tired?"

"Me? Nah, I'm fine"

He looked at her resisting the urge to call her a liar and just waited.

"I mean, yeah you know, sleeping's hard, but….just because of the waking up in a box thing. So maybe waking up is the problem. But you know, just for a second. I sleep okay. Great even. Accept for the dreams….." she looked away not wanting to meet his eyes.

 _Oh dear lord she woke up in her coffin? What the hell did those kids do to her?_

"You seem to be doing remarkably well under the circumstances. I'm proud of you" _I still love you._

"Well, actually it wasn't me. Will brought me back, I just lay there"

"You-You know….I meant.."

"I know what you meant" she said quietly looking down at the floor, looking up she gave a small smile, "It was just a little post-post mortem comedy"

He smiled at her but it was hollow, she stood up needing to be away from the temptation that was him, the temptation to tell him everything and let him hold her as she cried and cursed everyone.

"Well I...I...uh, better go, slay." she said moving towards the back door, grabbing her jacket from the pile of mats she left it on earlier.

"Yes there's always that, isn't there" he picked up his jacket as he stood. Looking over at her he saw the sad smile and the tear that was rolling down her cheek.

"Seems that way" she whispered sadly, leaving without looking at him.

 _Oh my love, where has my Buffy gone?_ He thought sadly as he returned to the others.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While on patrol she took her frustrations out on any vamps that crossed her path. She staked four before heading home feeling better able to deal with Giles.

She retrieved some sheets for the couch but could only find the ones she had had when she was a kid.

 _Why didn't mom ever tell me how to deal with all of this?_

She talked to Giles about her financial problem, sitting on the coffee table in front of him as he sat on the couch.

"Buffy, we should talk"

"Not now Giles, please?" she had known he would want to but she couldn't not yet, not until she had better control over everything that was going on in her head.

"Look at me love" he said gently placing his fingers under her chin.

The tears had welled in her eyes as he used the familiar endearment.

"I can't" she whispered. Shaking off his touch she stood and ran out of the room and up the stairs. Once in her room she shut the door and sank to the floor against it, letting the tears come.

After the worst had passed she got up and climbed out of her window. She needed to get out of the house but didn't want to see Giles again right now.

She returned a little later just in time to catch the end of the argument Giles and Willow were having in the kitchen about what she did to bring her back.

"And I'm far from convinced she's come out of this undamaged" she heard Giles say.

She knew he would notice there was something wrong, he knew her to well, loved her too much not to.

She looked at the floor just as a cigarette butt landed at her feet.

"Hello Spike" she said as she stood on it, putting it out.

"You hear all that noise"

"Just enough to make me feel crappy"

"You know watcher-boy doesn't mean anything by it"

"He loves me Spike" she said looking at him, waiting for the shock but not seeing any, "You knew, about us I mean"

"Heightened sense of smell remember" he said sniffing and looking at the floor, "I could smell you all over each other last year"

"Then why didn't you use it against us when you were playing Adams bitch?"

"Didn't need to, had enough without that to split you lot up didn't I" he grinned at her.

"Prat" she sighed and sat down, "Why are you always around when I'm miserable?"

"'Cause that's when you're alone I reckon"

"Yeah, you're good at finding the weaknesses but it has nothing to do with the fact you're semi stalking me though does it" she said with a grin when his eyes widened a little.

"Bollocks am I"

"Whatever" sighing she put her head on her knees,

"He wants his Buffy back, but I'm not sure she even exists any more"

"She's still there, you just gotta get through all this shit first before you let her out"

"And how exactly do I get through all this shit? Everyone's caring about me so much it just makes it harder to deal, I'm spending all my time trying to be ok so they don't worry but it's exhausting and it just..."

"Makes them worry more"

"Nail on the head. What's worse is I don't feel him any more"

"What do you mean?" he asked as he sat next to her.

"Giles and I had a bond, we were telepathically linked and could feel each others emotions even at a distance. But it's not there any more, or I can't feel it yet"

"Maybe you're burying it under all of the other crap"

"Maybe" she thought about everything she had learned about the bond but as she was the first Slayer ever to have been brought back from the dead there wasn't any lore on what happened to the bond as a result of resurrection.

"Thanks for listening Spike..." she was cut off by the sound of Dawn screaming.

She and Spike rushed into the house to see the demon from the bank advancing on Dawn and an unconscious Giles laying on the floor next to the stairs.

She had Spike throw it into the basement where she pummelled it over and over again with a pipe she had ripped from above her head.

After it was dead she went upstairs to check on Dawn and Giles, waking him up she got him an ice pack but still couldn't meet his gaze.

Anya had figured out how much it would cost to fix the mess as the others were trying to fix the broken furniture. Giving up they decided to throw it all out.

"Buffy?" Giles sat next to her, ice pack in hand.

"I can't do this" she said staring at Anyas estimate.

"Yes you can, you're mother dealt with this all the time. She took one crisis at a time without the aid of superpowers and got through it all, and so can you"

Buffy looked up, meeting his gaze for the first time, "You sure?"

"Positive"

She let herself be reassured but only slightly and then phone began to ring.

"I wonder who's calling me? Everyone I know lives here" she said as she went to answer it.

"I bet it's creditors" Dawn said looking at Giles, "The hounding's begun, I read about it, Do you think we'll starve?"

"I very much doubt it" Giles replied not looking at her. His eyes had followed Buffy out of the room.

"No chance I'd have to quit school to assemble cheap toys in a poorly ventilated sweatshop?"

"Poorly ventilated…...What have you been reading?" he asked staring at her puzzled.

They both looked up as Buffy returned walking purposefully to the front door.

"Buffy what is it?" Giles asked getting up.

"It's Angel" she said as she stopped and turned back to face them.

"Is he in trouble?" Giles asked placing his glasses back on his head.

"No, he knows that I'm….he needs to see me. I have to see him"

"Of course, you'll leave for L.A tomorrow"

"Not L.A. Not here. Somewhere in the middle. There's a..a place"

"I see. Well we should get all these….bills and things taken care of before"

"I gotta go now" she turned to leave then paused and looked back, "um, thanks for taking care of this for me"

 _I can't believe she just left because that pillock asked her to! And I didn't say I was going to take care of it for her, I want her to do it, she needs to come back to the world if I'm going to get her back._

Giles just sighed and bent his head to look at what needed to be done as Dawn sat there staring at the place Buffy had been standing, a hurt look on her face.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Ep** **isode Tabula Rasa** **with** **small** **references to Life Serial, All The Way and Once More With Feeling**

Chapter 3

Well the secret was out thanks to that singing demon Xander summoned, _stupid demon_ she thought, _and Spike tried to kiss me after singing about how he loved me, eww major wiggins_

She was sat in the doctors office, waiting for the doctor to call her to tell her her test results. She had been feeling funky since the week of 'trying to get Buffy back to living life' experiments.

At first she thought it was the bourbon she drank as she waited for Spike to play kitten poker with some demons, but it had gone beyond the bad hangover stage and then she had started being sick so the week of Halloween and finding Dawn parking with a vamp and that Xander and Anya were engaged, she had gone to the doctors, she was supposed to come last week but with all the singing she decided against it.

"Buffy Summers?"

She stood up and followed the doctor back to his room,

"So what's wrong doc?" she asked as she sat down.

"Nothing, you're pregnant" he said smiling at her.

"Huh?" to say she was shocked would be an understatement, she hadn't been with anyone since she had gotten back and the only person she had slept with in more than a year was Giles, _but that would mean….the day I died….oh my God!_

"I take it this is a surprise" the doctor said

"Just a little yeah"

"Well hop up on the table and we'll see what's going on shall we"

She stood up, moving on auto pilot she laid back and unbuttoned her jeans pushing them and her panties down slightly. She flinched at the cold gel and closed her eyes as the doctor moved the wand over her stomach.

"Definitely pregnant" the doctor said, "and look, there's another one"

"What?" Buffys eyes opened and she turned her head to look at the doctor.

"Yes look," he said pointing to the screen. Buffy looked and saw two fuzzy grey blobs.

Her hands tightened on her top as she struggled to swallow over the lump in her throat,

 _I'm gonna be a mom!_ She thought and as soon as she thought it she felt the bond flair back to life along with the happiness that Giles had awoken when he hugged her

 _Willows spell was interrupted before it could finish, Buffy shouldn't be back, unless...unless the powers wanted her back for something?_

Giles was researching her resurrection. She shut the bond down before he noticed her.

"You seem to be about eight weeks, congratulations" he pushed a button and printed a picture. Handing it to her he wiped the wand and replaced it, giving her a tissue to wipe the gel off of her stomach he returned to his desk as she sat up and re buttoned her jeans.

"I'm going to give you a prescription for prenatal vitamins and set you up with an OB. They will contact you with an appointment for your first check up in a week or so. Do you have any questions?"

"Uh, yeah, my due date? Could you tell me when you think it is?"

He looked at his calendar, "Based on your scan today I'm going to say it looks like the end of August but the OB will give you a better idea when you see them"

"Okay, thank you" She took the prescription and the scan picture and left.

She headed straight for the Magic Box to find Giles.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once she arrived, Giles took her into the training room and her happiness lasted another three minutes before he broke her heart.

 _He's leaving me, us._

"I have to" he said as he sat on the couch.

Buffy sat on the training mats looking at the floor, "Uh-huh"

"You have to be strong. I'm, I'm trying to.."

"Trying to what?" she said angrily jumping up, "Desert me? Abandon me? Leave me all alone when I really need you with me?"

"I don't want to leave.." he said quietly looking at the floor.

"So don't. Please don't" she sat next to him and grabbed his arm, "I can't do this without you"

"You can and you need to realise that. You're strong and that's why I'm leaving..."

"No it isn't" she said standing up and moving away from him. She placed a hand on her stomach and shook her head. She turned to face him,

"You're leaving because you think your Buffy is gone, that I don't love you any more, that I can't because I came back 'damaged' but I do love you Giles, so much, and I'm still me, sort of"

"Buffy...I, I'm..."

"What? Sorry?" she said hugging herself, "I get it, I'm not good enough. Not good enough for Dad to stay, or Angel, Parker used me and Riley cheated on me. But I thought you were different, I thought you were mine and I was yours, but I guess I was wrong" she said quietly as she hung her head and cried.

Giles was on his feet and reaching for her before he knew what he was doing. He gently placed his fingers under her chin and forced her head up to look at her.

She kept her eyes closed but felt his hand cup her cheek, she leaned into his touch, placing her hand on his.

"Buffy"

She opened her eyes when she heard the apology in his voice and saw the pity in his eyes. She shook him off and moved back,

"Don't pity me Giles. You don't know anything" she said wiping her face with her sleeves then she opened the bond at let him feel it, all of it, how much she loved him, how much she was hurting, how scared she was, she let him see her memories and she watched as he staggered back under the weight of it a shocked look on his face as he watched her.

"When you got back and you hugged me I finally felt like I was home. Every minute of every day I have wanted to tell you, to let you hold me as I cried and cursed at everyone and everything. So tell me, Giles, how not strong I am?"

"Buffy stop, please"

She shut the bond off as he collapsed onto the couch.

"You find out I was in Heaven and you decide to leave me. I leave you to fix things because I don't know how to do it right now. All I know how to do is survive the next minute, the next hour. Sometimes it gets to be so much that I can hardly breath"

"Buffy I can't, the urge to give up and lean on me for everything will be too hard to resist right now"

"You're wrong" she said and left him sitting there going back into the shop.

Giles followed and sat at the table with Anya and Tara as Buffy sat on the stairs to the loft, Willow and Xander stood next to the counter, Willow wearing Xanders jacket, Dawn stood near Buffy, glancing between her and Giles.

"I'm glad you're all here, I have something to..."

"Just jump to the chase, tell them that…."

Spike rushed into the shop wearing a tweed suit and a deer stalker, sizzling from the sun.

"I need asylum" he said as he stumbled forward

"I'll say" Xander said smirking at him.

"Hey, it's a disguise, there just happens to be a bloke I don't want to see right now" he said sitting on the counter.

"Well, now we have recovered from Spikes sartorial humour" he glared at spike who just shot him the finger as he took his hat off.

He glanced at Buffy who was leaning back with her hand on her stomach looking paler than she was a few minutes a go,

"I'll jump to the chase, I'm going back to England, for good this time" he didn't miss Dawns surprised look between him and Buffy who was now leaning forward with her head in her hands.

"Now? Not now, I mean not after….everything" Xander said

"Yes, now"

"For real this time? 'Cause honest to Pete a young shopkeepers heart can only take so much….I mean not that I want you to go" Anya said gripping his arm and turning in her seat to look at him.

Everybody jumped when Buffy lurched forward and threw up in the waste basket next to the table.

Giles began to get up but stopped when he saw Dawns glare. She dug a water bottle out of her bag and knelt down next to her sister, shielding her from the others and placing a gentle hand on her back she handed it to her.

Buffy took it with a grateful smile and washed her mouth out, spitting into the waste basket. She lent back on her heels and drank the rest, dropping the empty bottle in the basket as she stood up.

"I can't do this" she said quietly and turned to leave, "I need to think"

"Buffy, listen" Willow said as she stepped towards her.

Buffy stopped and turned to face her.

"I know this must be awful for you, and I, I'm sorry, I….I'm so sorry"

"Sorry. Everybody's sorry. I know you guys are trying to help but all you're doing is making me feel bad for not being okay, it's exhausting and the guilt I feel for not being better for you is killing me!" she shouted,

"I. Am. Trying. I'm trying to survive through the next minute and now I have to...I just can't keep..." Buffy collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Giles and Anya slumped together on the table, Tara in her chair, Spike slumped over on to some books on the counter and Xander, Willow and Dawn fell to the floor.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was dark when they all woke up, confused and scared. They had no idea who they were or where they were but judging from the items on the shelves they figured it was a magic shop.

Buffy could feel a pull to the older man sitting with a brunette but ignored it as she bent down next to the scared teenage girl,

"Please don't hurt me?" She whimpered.

"Hey, it's okay, I don't know who I am either" Buffy said as she helped the girl stand.

Behind them the red head had found her wallet and discovered her name was Willow which prompted everyone to search through their pockets for their ID's. The dark haired boy was Alex, the blond haired girl was Tara, the older man was Rupert and the blond haired man who had fallen off of the counter was Randy, possibly Rupert's son, the brunette was Anya.

"I don't have anything" the girl said sadly.

Buffy reached her hand out and pointed to a necklace she was wearing, "That says you're name is Dawn"

"Or Umad" she laughed, "What about you?"

"I don't know" Buffy patted her pockets and pulled out a prescription for prenatal vitamins.

Dawn noticed her frown and looked over her shoulder, "There, it says that you're Buffy Summers and wow, you're pregnant"

"I guess" Buffy said touching her stomach and looking down.

"Aren't you happy about it?" Dawn asked frowning at her.

"I don't know" Buffy was confused, if she was pregnant then that meant she had a boyfriend, _but which one was it?_ She looking at the three men in the room. Again she felt that odd pulling sensation towards Rupert who had just discovered he was engaged to Anya, _oh god! Am I his mistress?_ She thought horrified at herself.

She looked at Dawn, "Please don't say anything"

"Sure, but you should be happier you're pregnant ya know"

"Can you shut up about it! God you're annoying"

"God you're bossy"

They looked at each other and smiled,

"Hey, you don't suppose we're.."

"Sisters?" Buffy finished. Laughing they hugged.

"You never showed me affection like that" Randy said to Rupert, who just looked confused, "I'd wager"

"Well we need to figure out what's going on. And get help" Buffy said facing the others.

"Looks like Buffy fancies herself the boss" Randy snarked, they all ignored him.

"Well we have a teenager here and we have no idea what's going on so I think a hospital is our best bet"

Rupert looked at Buffy, feeling a strange pull in her direction, _why do I have the feeling I am intimately familiar with her body?_ He thought, _and why do I wish it was her and not Anya in my arms right now_?

"Yes, I agree, let's find a hospital shall we" he said moving towards the door.

The rest followed but when Buffy opened it they were met by the sight of two vampires snarling at them.

They all screamed and Buffy slammed the door joining the others hiding underneath the window.

They heard the vampires calling for Spikes and kept calling 'Slayer get out here'.

After a short discussion, Alex and Willow went to the back to see if there was another way out while Randy went to retrieve the 'Spikes' the vampires seemed to want.

They each took one and Buffy felt like it belonged in her hand. Willow called them back saying she and Alex had found an entrance to the sewers. As they all moved towards the back the front window exploded as a vampire jumped through it, screaming they ran only to stop as another vampire burst through the back door.

Alex got on his knees and started praying, to several Gods, but the vampire ignored him and went straight for Randy. Buffy was grabbed from behind and she struggled to get free,

"Get the fuck off of me you son of a bit.." she was cut off as the vampire slapped his hand over her mouth.

Randy had shoved the stakes he was carrying at the vampire holding him but it brushed them aside saying he owed his boss kittens.

Buffy managed to break free and she kneed the vampire in the crutch and punched him, she ran to Randy and staked the vampire holding him.

"Whoa!" Dawn said surprised.

"Buffy, what did you do?" Willow asked.

"I don't know but it was cool" she said smiling.

The other vampire made a run for it and they let him go.

They decided to split up, Dawn, Alex, Willow and Tara would head for the sewers, Giles and Anya were staying at the shop to look for a spell that might help and Randy and Buffy were going to make a run for it to draw the vampires away as it seemed they were gunning for him.

Outside they ran into trouble and a vampire grabbed Randy as Buffy was fighting another one.

Randy turned and morphed into a vampire and hit him sending him flying.

"Randy!" Buffy said shocked then screamed as he turned and she ran away.

"Hey!, Buffy what is it?" he called chasing after her.

He catches up to her but she throws him to the ground and tells him he's a vampire, they're both confused as to why they don't want to attack each other.

"Hey maybe I'm a noble vampire, a vampire with a soul?" Randy said pushing himself up on his elbows.

Buffy snorted and sat back, "A vampire with a soul, how lame is that"

Suddenly she was pulled off of him and thrown to the ground. Flipping to her feet she kicked at one vampire and bent down to stake him.

As she stood up her memories returned, crashing over her in a wave of pain and sadness that took her breath away leaving her vulnerable to a punch from the vampire, knocking her onto her back, he kicked her in the stomach twice as Spike called her name.

Spike dealt with the vampires, staking both then turned to the demon and told him he would get his kittens.

He rushed over to Buffy who was still lying on her side, curled inwards her arms hugging her stomach.

"Spike….hospital…...babies"

He cocked his head to the side and concentrated, "Oh, bloody hell" he said as he heard three heartbeats, "and that wanker's just gonna leave?"

"Spike!"

"Oh right, okay up ya come" he picked her up and ran as fast as he could to the hospital.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spike stayed with her as she was examined and given the all clear, keeping up his diatribe against Giles the entire time, Buffy had had enough.

"Spike, will you shut up!" she snapped as he got particularly graphic as he walked her home, "he doesn't know and when I went to tell him, he told me he was leaving"

"So, he should know what he's leaving you to cope with"

"Why? If I had told him he would have felt obligated to stay and I don't want him that way, I'll be fine. He wants me to be strong, so I'll be strong"

"Bollocks Slayer!" he snorted, "No ones that strong, I'll help" he said stopping and turning her to face him, "Whatever you need"

"No Spike, thank you for taking me to the hospital but I don't need you to help me with this, I can do it myself" she started to walk away but he grabbed her to him and covered her mouth with his.

"Get off!" she shoved him away and followed through with a punch, "I told you before, it is never gonna happen. Touch me again I will stake you"

She walked away from him not seeing the smile on his face.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episode Smashed**

Chapter 4

Buffy was walking home from the Magic Box, thinking about Giles and their bond which since he had left had given her nothing but static like an old radio with a weak signal, when she saw a couple backing up against a wall in an alley, stalking quietly closer she saw two men advancing on them, one of them rifling through the woman's purse.

As the wife offered a deal Buffy decided to interrupt,

"I always wanted a pony" she said staring back at the people now looking at her, "Oh, you weren't really talking to me were you? My bad, Well as long as I'm here..."

She walked forward and kicked one of the men who stumbled back, dropping the purse, he and his partner stared at Buffy in fear.

"Wow. A mugging. Haven't had one of them in a while, usually it's blood, and with the horror….just a good old-fashioned mugging. Kinda sweet actually"

She looked at the couple who were staring at her like she'd grown an extra head. She bent down and picked up the woman's purse and handed it to her,

"Oh, uh, probably not for you. Here. Go. Now" she watches as they run off.

One of the muggers attacked her and she blocked his punch, punched him instead then grabbed his arm and twisted it around behind him. She holds him there as she kicked the other one in the back.

"Not too sweet for you either, huh? But come on, rush me. it'll be funny" she said as the other one got up.

She then watched as Spike jumped in and punched him. She let go of the one she was holding as she struggled not to laugh as he rolled around clutching his head.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked him

"I thought they were demons"

"Way to go with the keen observiness, Jessica Fletcher"

"Remind me not to help you" he glared at her as he stood.

" ** _More_** often?"

"Hey, little sympathy for the man with the migraine here"

"That's what you get for attacking a human"

"Yeah, you'd think if the government was gonna put a chip in me head, they'd at least make it so I could attack criminals and that sort"

"Yes, because muggers deserve to be eaten. Just gonna have to get your rocks off fightin' demons"

"There are other ways" he said suggestively, Buffy gagged.

"And to that an extreme 'see you later'" she turned to go, spinning around as she felt him following her, "Stop following me Spike! I mean it!"

He held up his hands and backed off, smirking at her.

Sighing she headed home. She was tired, Giles had been gone for almost a fortnight and she had started to show, thankfully a baggy sweatshirt was helping her hide it but it wouldn't be long before she had to tell someone other than Dawn.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy put her keys on the table by the door as she shut it behind her, shrugging out of her coat she hung it up and looked around,

"Willow?"

Heading up the stairs she rehearsed what she wanted to say in her head, _you know how we all make choices and some are good and some are bad? Well I think I've made a bad one. I'm pregnant, with twins and I didn't tell Giles about it before he left. Oh and he's the father, we got together a few weeks after I dumped Riley, surprise. Lamelamelamelame._

She went into Willow's room and saw her sitting cross legged on the bed leaning back against the headboard.

"Hey, how you doin'?" she asked smiling at her.

"Oh. Uh….okay" she sat up as Buffy sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Not parades and cotton candy, but...okay"

"Will, um...can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course"

She fidgets nervously, "Right. Okay. Um...You know how we all make choices? And sometimes they're good, and….sometimes they're….less good.

"Uh huh.."

"Well, I think that I, uh..."

She looked up as the bathroom door opened, "Oh, hey Tara..." She looks again, "Amy?!"

Amy looks at Willow, "The whole school?"

Willow nods as Buffy just stares at each of them.

"By a giant snake thing. Okay, still adjusting. Hi Buffy" Amy said smiling at her.

"Hi. How've you been?" Buffy asked awkwardly.

"Rat. You?"

"Dead"

"Oh"

"Well I should let you guys catch up, I can.." she looked at Willow thinking _What did you do?_

"No no no, stay. Do you have any cookies?" Amy asked twitching.

"Uh, yeah, w-what kind?"

"Any kind. Not cheese"

"Um, sure, in the kitchen, I'll just get 'em" she started to get up.

"Oh no, I'll grab 'em" she said as she moved to the door.

"Okay, well at least, you know, let me make up the couch for you. It's late, you should stay, everybody does"

"Thank you" Amy said distracted as she walked out of the room.

Buffy stared at Willow who was avoiding her gaze.

"Wow" she said, blinking at her.

"I know" Willow smiled

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"Don't know she's kinda freaked. I mean, I would be too"

"Wow"

"I just realized I could. Thought of the right thing and...it's nice, having another magically inclined friend around"

Buffy looked down at her hands, _so not telling her about Giles and the twins now_

"So, what were you gonna tell me? You were sounding serious"

"Huh? Oh. Uh, it's nothing. I men, the whole Amy rat thing….no way I'm toppin' that"

Buffy left Willow to it and went downstairs to check on Amy. They talked about nothing but then Amy said about the frozen guy at the museum, she watched the news segment before grabbing her jacket and heading over there.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wishing she was neck deep in a hot bath instead of standing on the front lawn of a museum she watched as an ice statue was rolled out on a gurney into the back of an ambulance, camera crews following.

She looked around and started walking around the side of the museum, she stopped and looked back at the crowd then carried on when no one noticed her. She stopped as she saw a familiar figure in front of her,

"Great, it's my stalker" she said annoyed.

"Well, well, well. Look who decide to show up"

"What are you doing here Spike?"

"Well you know a man was frozen alive in there. A little compassion, luv"

Buffy just rolled her eyes and walked past him, sighing as he fell into step beside her.

"Uh, you know as long as we're both here, you might as well tag along. I mean, as a team we could..."

"Yeah that never ends well, does it? I asked you to stop following me Spike so, could you just, go away"

He grabbed her and spun her to look at him, "He's gone Buffy, never coming bac..."

She hit him not letting him finish, it was bad enough she thought that but to have Spike voice her fears….not happening.

He hit her back and as she hit the floor she didn't notice that his chip didn't go off. By the time she faced him again he was faking it. Buffy got up and backhanded him, knocking him to the floor and walked away leaving him there, missing the evil grin on his face as he got to his knees.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day she was at the Magic shop with Anya, Xander and Willow trying to research the frost demon, she suggested calling Giles even though she really didn't want to. She had a feeling that he had done something magical to block the bond which meant that he didn't want to talk to her, or feel her, and the realisation had broken her heart.

Willow got out her laptop, something she hadn't done in a while and the happy she felt at seeing it soon disappeared as she used magic to search.

They all knew why Tara had left but it didn't seem like Willow was gonna change any time soon.

Willow left soon after to go and check on Amy and they kept researching, they spoke about Willow and what she was doing, eventually agreeing to keep an eye on her and to give up on the research as Anya pointed out that there was no such thing as a frost monster who ate diamonds.

The phone rang as they were packing up the books so Buffy answered it, rolling her eyes when she realised it was Spike and hanging up when he tried to get her to meet him.

"So what did Captain Peroxide want?" Xander asked as he handed her a stack of books.

"For me to meet him, he's still trying to get me to 'like' him, thinks he has a better shot with Giles gone" she said putting the books back on the shelves.

"Why would Giles being gone give him a better shot?" he asked smirking at her back.

"Well…" she stopped and thought about it, _I have to tell someone, might as well be Xander,_

"It might have something to do with the fact that her and Giles were doing it last year" Anya said as she closed the cash register.

"Anya!" Buffy said spinning around, surprised she knew. Then she looked at Xander and noticed his smile, "Wait you knew?"

"We all did" he said shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels, "We went round Giles' place last year looking for you and heard you two going at in his bedroom. We didn't say anything 'cause we figured you would tell us when you were ready"

"Yeah," Anya cut in, putting her hand around Xanders waist and laid her head on his shoulder, "that's why we were so surprised he left you, we thought you would be happier with him here"

"I was" Buffy mumbled. Sighing she looked up at them, "I'm not the only one he left" She said and lifted her top, turning to the side so they could see her little baby bump better.

"What? How? Did you...uh..did you and he, uh.." Xander said shocked as he looked at her obvious bump.

"No we didn't. Willows spell brought me back exactly as I was just before I died which included the twins" she said lowering her top.

"Twins!" Xander collapsed to the bench his hand slapping his forehead.

"Does Giles know?" Anya asked looking at her shrewdly.

Buffy sighed and sat down, "No he doesn't. I found out the day he told us he was leaving and I was gonna tell him but, then, you know, badness"

"Buffy" Anya sat next to her, "He deserves to know, he's a good man, he'd come back if he knew"

"Exactly. I don't want him to come back because he feels he has to, I want him to come back because he wants to"

"Buff, he didn't want to leave you" Xander said leaning towards her.

"Yeah? So why did he? And why has he cut off our bond?" Buffy said angrily. She stood up and grabbed her jacket.

"I don't wanna talk about this and neither of you can tell him, I know he still calls you at least. Promise me!"

"If it's what you really want then we promise" Xander said staring at Anya until she rolled her eyes,

"Fine, I promise, but I don't like it"

"Neither do I really but it's my life and the sucky love life of men who leave me is just part of it" she grabbed a couple of stakes and shoved them in her pockets, "I'm gonna do a quick sweep, I'll see you tomorrow"

She left before they saw her tears and didn't see Xander angrily clenching his jaw.

Spike found her on the way home.

"And so my night is now complete" she said not stopping.

"You never showed"

"Sorry little busy doing things that are actually important"

"You shouldn't be so flip luv"

"What are you gonna do, walk behind me to death?"

"I'm just saying things might be a little different" he said as he walked in front of her and forced her to stop, "You oughta be careful"

She shook her head, "Enough" she tried to move past him but he blocked her path again, "Get out of my way Spike"

"Or what?"

She shrugged and punched him in the face. He reeled back a little but caught himself then hauled back and hit her back causing her to spin around.

As she straightened up and turned back towards him she noticed he wasn't in pain.

"Oh the pain! The pain! Is gone" he said mocking her, "Guess what I found out. Looks like I'm not as toothless as you thought luv"

"How?"

"Don't you get it? Don't you see? You came back wrong" he sneered at her, "That's why old Rupert up and left you"

"No!" she shouted at him as she lunged at him. She took all of her frustrations out on him, beating him down, not giving him a chance to fight back.

"What's the matter Spike? Not going how you thought it would?" she said as she kicked him through a door into an abandoned house,

"Thought I'd be too shocked to fight back so you could knock me around a little?"

She head butted him and knocked him back into the fire place, watching as it crumbled on top of him. He shot up then and hit her back, she spun away from him staggering a little into the post at the bottom of the stairs, hissing as she felt something slice into her back, before she could recover he hit her again knocking her to the floor.

He stopped his attack as she laughed at him, stumbling to her feet she lay a hand over her stomach as she glared at him,

"Wanna know the best part of you being able to hit me back Spike?" she asked as she straightened, staring him in the face.

"This!" and she staked him, purposefully missing his heart.

He screamed in shock and fear as he fell back, hitting the floor with a thud.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"The only reason you are alive right now is because I'm grateful for what you did while I was dead. Come at me again whether it's to hurt me or try to kiss me, then next time I won't miss"

She walked away and left him in the ruins of the house, hand on her belly and limping slightly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When she got home Tara and Dawn were sitting on the couch staring at the tv.

"Buffy what happened?" Dawn asked jumping up.

"Got into a fight, you know me" She said reassuring her.

"A-are you o-okay?" Tara asked looking at the bruise on her jaw.

"I'll be okay, hey Dawn? Could you grab me an ice pack?"

"Sure but next time just say you want to talk to Tara" she said grinning at her.

"Can we sit for a minute?" Buffy asked

"S-sure"

As they sat down Buffy gasped and clamped a hand to her stomach. Her eyes widened as she felt a bigger bump than she had. She stood up and moved her shirt out of the way, yep definitely bigger.

"Y-you're p-p-pregnant!" Tara said shocked

"Uh, yeah but I wasn't this pregnant an hour ago, I'm only eleven weeks!"

"I-it's p-probably because you're the s-slayer" Tara said placing her hands on Buffys belly and closing her eyes, "they're p-protected by something. W-what h-happened tonight?"

"Spike" she said sitting down after moving the waistband of her skirt under her bump, "he can hit me, says I came back wrong"

"N-no B-buffy, y-you d-didn't" Tara said shaking her head, eyes wide.

"Then why can he hit me? And it's only me, his chip still works"

"D-do y-you want me t-to look into the spell t-that b-brought you back?"

"If that's okay, yeah, I mean I don't feel wrong but maybe I am, maybe that's why Giles left" she said, tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh Buffy, Giles loved you, you must know that" Tara said as Buffy began to cry.

"Then why did he leave?" she sobbed into her hands. She felt Tara pull her into her arms and just hold her as she cried.

"Does he know about the baby?"

"Babies. It's twins and no, he told her he was leaving before she could tell him and she didn't want him to stay because he felt he had to" Dawn said walking back into the room with her ice pack, "What happened to the bump? You were barely showing this morning"

"No clue, it just grew" Buffy said looking down at it, she turned to Tara "You can't tell him, I don't want him to feel obligated to come back" Buffy said allowing Dawn to put the ice pack on her jaw.

"I won't tell him, I promise" she said, "Uh Buffy? When did you get pregnant?"

"Before I died. Willows spell brought me back as I was just before I died which included these two" she said rubbing her now noticeable bump, "Would that explain the rapid growth?"

"Maybe, I don't know, I'll look into that as well"

"Thank you Tara" Buffy said hugging her, "Could you come with me to the OB tomorrow? I don't want to go alone it's at ten"

"Of course I'll come with you, I'll be here in the morning"

"Are you sure, I could meet you, you know, some place that's elsewhere"

"No it's fine, I'll meet you here"

"Okay, now I'm going for a bath, work out the sore spots, Come on Dawn, you need to get to bed too"

"Fine" she grumbled heading to the stairs "Thanks for the milkshake Tara" she called over her shoulder.

"Do you want to stay? It's late" Buffy asked as she stood up.

"No it's okay, I'll be fine, witch remember" with that Tara left and Buffy headed up for a bath.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N No episode but references Wrecked, Gone and Doublemeat Palace.**

Chapter 5

 _Dear Giles,_

 _Week from hell! And no I'm not exaggerating. Willow went full crack ho with the magic after Tara left her, bringing Amy back, partying all night and got me in a car accident while she was running from a demon she accidentally conjured when she was seeing a 'magic dealer' so now I have a fractured arm._

 _Don't worry though, Buffys asked her to quit and we got rid of all the magic stuff today, even the candles which I don't think is fair but Buffy says it's to help Will so okay._

 _Buffys doing better, lot's better actually, she's pissed at you and I hear her cry at night when she thinks I'm asleep but she's getting on with it. She cut her hair today right before she was turned invisible by Jonathan, that kid who built Spikes Buffy bot and Tuckers brother. Turns out they're 'super villains' now and it was them screwing with Buffy that week she hung with you all trying to get back into the swing of things._

 _Speaking of Spike he's been stalking Buffy and he can hit her for some reason. His chips fine, he can't hurt anyone else but he can hurt her. She came home with a bruise on her jaw and a limp and the ba…, er her back was cut but she was awesome, she staked him but not in the heart 'cause she said she was grateful he helped when she wasn't around and she told him that if he came at her again, to hurt or try to kiss her, she'll stake him for real._

 _Buffy thinks she came back wrong and that's why he can hurt her and why you… Tara looked into it and said that she was fine but she's stuck on the 'came back wrong' thing._

 _She's applied for lot's of jobs but only the Doublemeat Palace called for an interview, so I get to make fun of her in her crappy uniform haha._

 _Oh and when she was invisible she messed with the social services woman who showed up as we were getting rid of Willows magic stuff and thought her dried sage was weed and how it was Buffys fault what happened with the car accident, they're sending someone else now._

 _Xander and Anya are going nuts with the wedding planning, she was talking about making the bridesmaids wear burlap and blood lava, you should have seen Buffys face!_

 _I'm doing okay, really looking forward to the, uh, the end of school. It's really boring this year._

 _Xanders mad at you, that's why he hasn't been answering your calls, and I'm not allowed to tell you why. He said that when he's calmed down then he will call you but all it takes is for him to look at Buffy these days and he gets angry again._

 _Willow said she'll call soon once she has the hang of the magical recovery program._

 _Buffy, well you know how stubborn she is, she still loves you though and she's only so mad because she misses you, why did you shut off the bond? That broke her heart I think, she was out all night when she realised what you had done._

 _That's all folks :)_

 _I miss you_

 _Love Dawn x_

So Xander was mad at him, that much was obvious when he stopped answering his calls, it wasn't because he had left because he said he understood it so what was wrong with Buffy that would cause his anger?

Buffy. He found himself tracing her name as he looked over the parts of Dawns letter that mentioned her.

She was doing better but there was something going on with her that he wasn't supposed to know. He smiled when he read about her staking Spike but he couldn't stop the tears from blurring the words, _she thinks she came back wrong?_

He was regretting leaving, he missed her and he regretted blocking the bond, _I broke her heart? Oh love I'm sorry_

The letter was dated a week ago, he looked at the clock, it was nine their time. He picked up the phone and dialled Willows number.

"Hey Giles"

"Uh, yes hello Willow. How are you?"

"You got Dawnies letter then?"

"Yes, it left me with some concerns.."

"I'm doing okay, it's hard, sometimes it's really hard, like today with the old woman and the demon snake thing coming out of head I was really tempted but I was good, I didn't use"

" _Dawn! What the hell is this? Were you gonna send this to him?"_

" _He needs to know Buffy! Look at you! The circles under your eyes have brought friends, you're exhausted!"_

" _So? He left Dawn! He left me, us. He wanted me to be strong to face life and that's what I'm doing"_

"Er, um, hold on a second"

He could hear the argument, the sound of Buffys voice, even angry, made his heart race at the same time his stomach twisted with guilt as he listened to what she was saying.

He heard Willow shut her door but he could still hear the argument.

"Okay, just another Summers smack down. How're you doing Giles?" she asked, sounding uncomfortable now.

"What's going on with Buffy Willow?"

She sighed, "We're not allowed to tell you"

"Tell me what? Is Buffy injured?" he was getting anxious now.

"No, no nothing like that, she's tired but she's coping, same old stubborn Buffy"

" _Spikes patrolling 'cause you can't any more all because of this magical p.."_

The sound of Dawns voice was cut off as Willow chatted happily away.

"Did Dawn tell you about the invisible Buffy incident? That was freaky for a while, not being able to see her but with her talking to us, kinda like she was a..."

"Why isn't Buffy patrolling Willow? What's wrong with her?"

"She's um, sick, that's all, nothing bad just a touch of, uh, stomach flu that's.." she was cut off by Buffys scream.

He heard her door open and her scream got louder, "Will, it's growing again" he heard Dawn say.

"Uh, Giles? I'm sorry but I gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow"

With that she was gone, leaving Giles sitting on the edge of his seat, gripping the phone so tight he heard it creaking.

 _What the hell is happening?_ He thought as he put the phone down.

He had just sat back when the phone rang again. Lurching forward he snatched up the handset,

"Willow?"

" _Dawn don't!"_

" _Shut up Buffy, this has got to stop"_

"Giles?"

"Yes, Dawn! What's happening? Is Buffy all right?"

" _I don't want him back like this!"_

"Tough. No she's not Giles, she's pregnant"

"W-what? How?" he sat back, the air suddenly heavy.

"We think Willows spell brought her back exactly how she was just before she died which just so happened to include the babies."

"I-I'm sorry, d-did you say b-babies?"

"Yep, two of them, a boy and a girl. Congratulations Daddy"

"W-what….w-when did she know?" _I have a son and a daughter?_

"The day you left, she was so happy and she was going to tell you but then you dropped your little bombshell so she kept it to herself"

"Why? I would have stayed if I had known" he said angrily, sitting forward he ripped his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That's why she didn't tell you and why she made us all promise not to tell you. She didn't, doesn't, want you to feel obligated to come back, even though she misses you"

"I miss her too Dawn, I didn't want to leave her but she wasn't ever going to stand on her own if I had stayed"

"That's crap and you know it" she snapped angrily, "she was struggling, she needed help, all you had to do was tell her you weren't gonna do it for her any more"

"She told me it felt like your mum was back when I was there.." he was cut off by her laugh,

"You know for a smart guy you can be such an idiot"

"I beg your pardon?"

"She said that because you made her feel safe and happy and loved again. She told me that until you were there she felt cold, all the time, but then you made her feel warm"

"I-I didn't know" he said softly closing his eyes, _what have I done?_ he thought.

Taking a deep breath he tried to settle the churning in his stomach.

"So she's only about four months along?" he asked.

"Um, no. We don't know if it's 'cause she's the slayer or 'cause she was brought back but every time she, or they, feel like her life's in danger or it might be 'cause she gets injured in a fight, we don't know..

"What is it Dawn?" he interrupted as she babbled.

"The babies grow about four weeks in minutes. It's happened twice now"

" _Will? How far along is she now do you think?"_

He heard Dawn ask Willow how far along she was away from the phone but didn't hear the answer.

"Will says she thinks she's about six months now"

"Give her the phone"

"Okay, your funeral"

He waited for what seemed like an eternity, catching a whispered argument and an angry hiss from Dawn before he heard Buffy sigh.

"What Giles?" she didn't sound angry, just resigned.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked gently, "Don't you think I would have wanted to be there for you?"

"You didn't before, why would me being knocked up change that" she said softly.

"Buffy, I wanted to be with you but..."

"Why did you block the bond?"

"I had to, I could see your dreams and it was killing me, it's not permanent, I can reverse it, I carry the spell with me" he said.

"Oh, a warning would have been nice, I thought you were dead until Anya said she had spoken to you"

"Oh Buffy, I'm sorry, I-I didn't think"

"Obviously"

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"No"

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to come back because you wanted to not because you felt guilty for leaving you're pregnant ex-girlfriend behind"

"When did we become ex? I don't remember splitting up with you. I left to give you time to learn to stand on you're own again"

She sobbed down the phone and his heart broke, _she thought I had left her!_

"Buffy, I never left _you_ , you're my whole world, I'm sorry"

"Giles?" she whispered, "Open the bond again"

He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and slipped the spell out. He whispered the phrase then closed his eyes and concentrated on the words until he felt her. He heard her gasp and cry harder as she felt him again.

He saw a memory of her standing in front of her mirror in nothing but her underwear, turned to the side as she rubbed her swollen belly, her hair was shorter. Looking down at it she whispered _I think I'm gonna name you Danielle Eleanor and Alexander Edward, what do you think?_ And saw her smile at the little nudge she received in reply.

"Buffy, you're beautiful" he whispered, tears in his eyes as she realised she had given them his parents names.

"What did you do?" Dawn asked

"Dawn? Where's Buffy?"

"She's asleep, for the first time in a long time she actually looks peaceful"

"I opened the bond. Why Danielle?"

"It's Willows middle name. Are you coming home?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can"

He hung up and closed his eyes again watching her dream for a while before reaching for the phone and dialling the council.

He had a lot to do before he could leave and that included getting a doctor who knew who Buffy was to take care of her.

After hanging up with the council he moved to his study to finish the translation he had been hired to do, all while a part of him stayed connected to Buffy.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been a week since Dawn had defied Buffy and told Giles about the babies and Buffy had never been happier.

Since the smell of the Doublemeat was making her nauseous all the time she had had to quit, not that she was sad about it. Giles had told her not to worry and had wired a large sum into her account, he had told her that despite what he had said he had never meant for her to risk her health and that now she was pregnant with his children he would happily take care of her.

She would lay in her bed of a night talking to him through their bond as he finished his translation and arranged for his things to be shipped back. He also said she should look for a new house, big enough for all of them that he would buy. Buffy had been hesitant at first but he had insisted so she had agreed on the proviso that their house would be rented so that Dawn could have it if she wanted it when she was older.

The doctor from the council showed up a few days after the phone call and had given her a thorough examination. He had told her that there were no outside forces affecting her babies, that it was the babies themselves who were magical but there was nothing to worry about and that they were perfectly healthy.

 _So they're magical_ Giles said through the bond sitting in his arm chair. After he had finished lunch he had felt Buffys nudge, her version of a knock at the door.

 _Looks like they take after their Daddy_ she smiled as she heard his silent chuckle. She hissed in pain and tried to get more comfortable in her bed.

 _What is it?_

 _Oh it's nothing, one of them is digging into my kidney, can't tell which but the doc said that Danielle is more active so it's probably her_

 _Takes after her mother then_ he chuckled at her mental frown.

 _You never said if you were okay with their names_

 _Buffy they're perfect, stop worrying_

 _As long as you do too_

 _That won't ever happen, it'll be easier when I can see you properly, hold you again_

 _I can't wait for you to get here, how much longer will you be?_

 _I don't know, a week, maybe two_

 _That long_ she sighed in frustration

 _I know, I feel the same way but the council want me to liaise with the coven in Devon before I leave_

 _I'm already huge, by the time you get here I'm gonna be too big and tired to do anything but kiss you_

He chuckled at the pout he could hear in her voice.

 _That will have to do until you are up for more, uh, strenuous activity_

He laughed out loud at her growl.

 _I can't wait to see you again my love, to feel you in my hands, to kiss you_

 _Me either. Do you think you'll be here for Xander and Anyas wedding_

 _Oh most definitely. Have they really decided to only have us there?_

 _Yeah, they both said that we're the only family they really have so it'll be just us with a few of Xanders friends from work and a few of Anyas demon friends from when she was a vengeance demon_

 _I must say I was flattered he asked me to be best man_

 _He did? Anya made me maid of of honour_

 _Will I be stunned by how beautiful you will look?_

 _Oh you'll be stunned all right_ she yawned

 _Go to sleep my love, we'll talk tomorrow_

 _Okay, G'night Ru_

 _Sleep well my love_

He hummed Brahms lullaby until she had drifted off, her dreams once gain centred around him and the twins.

Smiling to himself he packed a bag and left for the coven.


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer:-** I own nothing but the imagination.

 **Rating:- M**

 **A/N Episode Older and Far Away with reference to Dead Things**

Chapter 6

They had a theory that the babies only grew if Buffy received an open wound when fighting, Tara thought it was the babies instinctively using their magic to heal their mom which caused the growth spurt as a side effect, so she went back to patrolling.

Giles hadn't liked that idea but Buffy told him that Spike wasn't a reliable substitute when it came to patrolling, pointing out that he didn't care when he thought he might have a killed a girl last week his excuse being that his chip would have gone off if he had, she didn't have a choice and she wouldn't risk the lives of the others for the sake of taking it easy,

 _I'm still the Slayer Giles, that means I have a job to do and there is something out there killing people, I have to go. Don't worry, I'll be fine_ she had said to him, calmly, hoping he wouldn't start a row.

 _Don't tell me not to worry Buffy because I am going to no matter what you say. I've always worried about you while you were on patrol._

 _Fine. But I have to go. If you're still awake when I get back I'll let you know what happened, okay?_

 _Okay. Please be careful Buffy. The covens seers say there is something coming on the Hellmouth but they don't know what it is yet._

 _I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I find anything. Did you ask about the babies?_

 _Yes, they told me of a prophecy about the resurrected Slayer and I have been looking for it in the council archives but so far I've had no luck. Unfortunately it means I'll be delayed another week._

 _What! Never mind at least I still have this. Will you be listening in on the party? It's a Buffy bash so there's bound to be carnage._

 _Of course and you don't know that there will be, uh, carnage. Did you find a house yet?_

 _I know and yes actually I have. Five bedrooms, one with an en-suite which is so ours, it has a basement, a study and a large living room with a dining area at the back, It's perfect. The garden is pretty cool too, it has this gnarly old tree that I could see the kids climbing._

As she told him about it she showed him her memory of seeing it and he had to agree, it was perfect.

 _I'll arrange everything when I get back._

 _Okay. I really have to go now. Dawns going to be so disappointed, I'm missing dinner again._

 _Buffy, you must eat._

 _I am! I swear, I can't stop eating really, it's just I promised her a family dinner tonight and I'm bailing for a hunt._

 _She'll understand. Be safe._

 _I will. Love you._

 _Love you too._

She opened her weapons chest as Dawn entered the room,

"I take it you can't make dinner" Dawn said as she watched her pack several stakes and a few daggers into a bag.

"I'm really sorry Dawnie, but there's this thing out there. Definitely non vampire.

"I understand" she said smiling.

Buffy picked up the bag, slinging it over her shoulder she smoothed her jacket over her belly and moved to the door.

"Well. Maybe when you get back we can set up for your party tomorrow." Dawn said hopefully as she followed her.

"Yeah. Uh, this could take a while though, I wouldn't wait up. Besides Willow promised to be on birthday patrol, so there's nothing left for us to do"

"Right"

"Okay, so, finish dinner, homework, and don't stay up too late, all right?"

"So midnights okay?"

"Very funny Dawn" Buffy smiled at her sister, gave her a hug then left, closing the door behind her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy walked through the graveyard spinning an axe in her hands. She had been all over Sunnydale and now her feet hurt.

She was starting to think she should just go home when a large demon with red skin and a spines on his head leaped out behind her.

She whirled around just in time to block the sword he swung at her head. The axe handle started to bend with the force of the sword and then it was pulled from her hand, flying up and landing far enough away that she wouldn't be able to reach it before the demon sliced her into itty bitty pieces.

The demon swung at Buffy again but she grabbed his sword arm and twisted it around behind his back but as she got a firm hold on him, he shimmered and disappeared.

He reappeared behind her so she kicked him in the face, punching him before he could regain his balance then kicked him again. He fell back and the sword flew up in the air, she caught it just as the demon charged her, stabbing him through the stomach a blue light flashed in a circle from his wound.

Buffy pulled the sword out and fell on her backside, the sword landing point down on the ground between them. Behind her the demon roared and fell to his knees clutching at his stomach, shimmering he turned into a bolt of silver light which shot over to the sword and into it.

Buffy looked around but didn't see the demon anywhere, grumbling she rolled to her feet,

"Run off, huh? Afraid to face a true warrior?" she said as she rubbed her back, "Ooh, shiny".

She grabbed the sword and looked it over, twirling it around and appreciating the balance. Bending to grab the axe and her discarded bag of weapons she headed home, hoping Dawn was still up so they could devour the choc chip cookie dough in the freezer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We're feeding an army" Xander joked as he looked at the table full of party food.

"No, they couldn't make it, this is all just for you Xand" Buffy said smiling up at him, "But I might just have to slay you if you go near the cheesy chips"

"Consider me warned" he said backing up with a grin, "Although I'm pretty sure I could out run you now"

Laughing Buffy threw a roll at his head and headed to open the front door.

"Hey, you made it" Buffy said as she hugged Tara.

"Of course sweetie" she pulled back and laid a hand on Buffys stomach, "So, how're you doing?"

"All good, I even patrolled last night and no 'whoosh, pop!' after so it looks like you right about blood being the trigger"

"That's good. Oh, here, happy birthday" she said as she handed over a small gift box.

"Thanks" Buffy pulled her into the dining room away from the others, "How're you doing?"

"The word 'gulp' comes to mind" Tara replied nervously. Looking up the stairs she sees Willow and Buffy makes her excuses and leaves them to it.

 _How are you feeling love?_ Giles' voice was a welcome sound, to her tired mind.

 _Tired but happy. Wish you were here_ she poured herself a drink just a Tara came in and helped herself to the 'adult' punch.

"I needed that" she said as Buffy looked at her in surprise.

 _Everything okay love?_

 _Yeah, Tara just helped herself to some liquid courage. She's just seen Will for the first time since she left._

 _Poor girl. How is Willow doing? She's evasive when I talk to her._

 _Mostly she's fine but the other day she was annoyed with one of her professors and as she was ranting about it I could have sworn her eyes turned black for a second._

 _The coven seem to think that she may be the danger their sensing._

 _Willow? No way, she's like, the sweetest person ever._

 _Yes but she has a lot of power that she is ignoring, just keep an eye on her._

 _I will. Oh great._ She said as she saw Spike walk in through the back door with the baggy skinned demon from the night of kitten poker and bourbon.

 _What is it?_

 _Spike just walked in through the back door with Clem. That demon with the flappy skin from the kitten poker game._

 _Pillock! What's he doing there?_

 _He has been helping, sort of, maybe Willow invited him. I'll fill you in later sweetie._

 _I'll be waiting._

"Hey Spike, Clem, how've you been?" she asked as she sipped her drink.

"Not bad luv, could be better, fancy helping with that" he grinned at her.

Buffy just rolled her eyes, she was used to his innuendos and flirting usually just ignoring him, she turned to Tara, "I have to use the bathroom. If you happen to know any emasculating spells, please feel free to use them on Spike"

Tara giggled and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Hey, now that was uncalled for Slayer" Spike called after her indignantly.

Buffy smiled as she climbed the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Willow had gotten Buffy a massager and she blushed as she heard Giles' suggestion as to what he would do with it.

Dawn had gotten her a gorgeous long sleeved burgundy wrap dress that finished just below the knee that had Giles imagining dinner and after unwrapping her for dessert, Buffy lost herself in his fantasy but they were interrupted from their thoughts when Xander and Anya wheeled in a large chest.

"Oh my god!, Did you guys make that?" Buffy asked as she gave the box back to Dawn, and asked her to help her up.

"Xander did the building while I offered helpful suggestions from a safe distance" Anya said happily.

"It holds your basic weapons plus a few non basic ones and it has a handsome CD holder" Xander said as he held it open for her while helping her kneel down.

"We wanted you to have something no one else would have" Anya said.

"A Xander Harris original" Buffy said smiling up at them, "Thank you guys"

Xander pulled her to her feet and she hugged him and then Anya.

Dawn linked her arm through her sisters and lent in to whisper in her ear,

"Is Giles listening?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought so, the way you blushed when you opened Willows present and then looked all dreamy when you opened mine I'm guessing he's not being stiff upper lip British guy"

Giles laughed in her head as Buffy blushed again, "Dawn! You're too young to know anything about that" she said giving her a playful shove.

Dawn just laughed and watched as she lowered her now very large body to the couch so she could open Taras gift which turned out to be homemade oils and a little packet of bath salts.

"Those two are pregnancy blends, one for sleep and one for stretch marks" Tara said pointing to the bottles with pink and blue ribbons tied around the necks.

"That one is for healing" she said as she pointed to the one with a purple bow. Pointing to the one with the red bow she said, "and that one is a massage oil for the, um, bedroom"

Blushing furiously she smiled and ducked her head. Giles on the other hand was very interested in the massage oil.

"Thank you Tara, they're perfect"

Buffy sat on the sofa, happily watching her friends dance and laugh while she rubbed her blooming belly, trying to calm the dance party the twins were having.

Dawn had brought Tara the locket they had found while routing through the attic for any of their baby bits and Buffy now focused on them as the babies had calmed enough for the minute.

"Can you do something to open this? We have tried everything and it won't budge" Dawn asked Tara.

"Sure, a simple release spell should do it but I don't know if you'll have the herbs I'll need"

"In the lock box in my closet is an emergency magic bag, Giles helped me put it together, whatever you need should be in there" Buffy said calling over to Tara.

"What's the code?" she asked standing up.

"Dawn knows it"

"Do I?" she looked at Buffy confused, Buffy just raised her eyebrows at her then she remembered, "Oh yeah and eew, that was too much information then and it still is now"

 _What's the code?_ Giles asked. Having spent the last few minutes listening to the happiness in Buffys mind as she calmed their children.

 _The first time we screwed like bunnies._

 _Made love Buffy._ He admonished, she knew he didn't like to debase the act in which he showed her how much he loved and adored her.

 _No Giles, the first time was a release of animalistic passion, and you know it._

 _Fine, you're right, that first time was rather, uh,_

 _Mind blowing? Earth shattering? Life changing? 'Cause it was all of those for me and once the babies are born I will be wearing a corset with a tiny little thong and I might even let you tie me to the bed. There might even be flavoured body paint involved or squirty cream or both..._

 _Jesus Buffy! Will you stop! I'm stiff as a board here._

She chuckled, rather wickedly he thought, _Believe me, I'm a hundred times worse._ _Now ssh a minute I have to concentrate._

 _Yes dear._

Smiling she watched as Tara came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen with the emergency magic bag under her arm.

Willow came and sat next to her, noting her silly smile and rolled her eyes,

"Hey Buff, you mind melding with our favourite British guy?"

"Yep, but not right now, you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just, you know, magic"

"I know I'm sorry. Hey wanna know something kinda scary?"

"Always" Willow grinned and shifted to face Buffy on the couch.

"I found leather cuffs in the attic, no idea where they came from or who's they were" She shuddered.

"Okay, creepy not scary" Willow said.

"I know but it kept your mind off of what Tara was doing didn't it" she said smugly.

"Is it done then?" willow looked around and saw Dawn with the open locket.

"Sneaky Buff, really sneaky" she smiled and laid her head on Buffys shoulder.

 _Uh, Buffy?_

 _They're already hidden in my closet._

 _Good girl._

 _Not if I can help it._

She smiled when she heard his growl.

 _I'm off to bed now, I'll talk to you tomorrow, hopefully I'll know when I can come home._

 _Okay. Do me a favor though sweetie._

 _What's that?_

 _Block your side of the bond. The last time you 'saw to yourself' you woke me up just as you came after giving some very hot dreams and I swear I was wet for a week._

 _Oh god! Buffy, I love you._

 _I love you too Ru, don't wear yourself out._

The bond went dark and she smiled to herself knowing that she could do that to him.

She was watching Xander and Anya whispering to each other cuddled up on the armchair when she saw the demons sword begin to glow.

"Uh, Will, help me up. Now!"

Willow jumped and pulled Buffy up, watching as she moved towards the demons sword that she had brought home yesterday and left propped against the wall.

Just as she reached the sword a silvery puddle flowed from the blade, it slithered across the floor and formed into the shape of the demon. He backhanded her and she flew backwards.

"Buffy!" Xander screamed. Spike caught her, made sure she was steady then ran at the demon, punching him in the face and knocking him back slightly.

Buffy snatched up the sword, spinning towards the demon she slashed at it making it stagger back. It turned and melted into the wall.

"Everyone, upstairs, now!" she yelled. Holding her belly with one hand and the sword with the other she raced around the corner, Spike going in the opposite direction, expecting to find the demon. Not seeing it she whirled round as the demon came up behind her.

Kicking it back she followed it, slashing it with the sword. It shimmered and disappeared.

Buffy waited, senses on full alert.

"Where'd it go?" Spike asked, crouching slightly as his eyes scanned his surroundings.

The demon reappeared behind Buffy, locking his arms over her chest and picking her up.

She whipped her head back satisfied when she felt the crunch of cartilage and dropped to the floor on one knee. She saw Spike twist the demons arm up behind his back then force him forward slamming his head into the wall.

The demon melted into the wall again and Spike let go in surprise, Buffy grabbed the sword and moved as fast as she could to the spot where he had disappeared, stabbing the wall there was a flash of blue light that was absorbed by the sword.

Taking the sword she snapped it over her knee.

"You know that's hot right?" Spike said with a leer.

She ignored him as she threw the now broken sword to the floor,

"Xander?" She shouted, "It's okay, it's dead"

Dawn came running down the stairs and flung her arms around her sister,

"Are you okay?"

"Dawnie I'm fine" She said rubbing her back, "Just another typical birthday bash" she pushed her back and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Were you hurt?" Xander asked as he and Anya entered the room.

"A little bruised but no open wounds so there'll be no miracle grow tonight guys"

She yawned and rolled her shoulders, hissing in pain as the action caused a twinge of pain.

"Buffy?" Tara walked over concerned.

"Just a little achy, nothing a hot shower won't fix"

"Need help with that?" Spike said twitching his eyebrows suggestively at her,

"Ow!" He glared over his shoulder at Xander who had just smacked him in the back of the head,

"Watch the hair Harris"

"Get out Spike" Buffy said glaring at him.

"Fine, crappy party anyway" and he stomped off, Clem followed giving Buffy a thumbs up,

"Great party" He said smiling as he left.

Buffy chuckled and looked at her friends,

"As birthday carnage goes, this wasn't so bad, no arm in a box but a demon in a sword and no one got hurt, I think we should call it a night though just in case"

"Okay guys, I have work in the morning anyway" Xander said grabbing his coat and Anyas,

"Buff, I'll be over after work to fix that hole there" he gestured to where Buffy had stabbed the demon through the wall.

"Tara? Can I give you a lift back?" Asked as he helped Anya on with her coat.

"Please, if it's no trouble" she said smiling. She glanced at Willow as they left giving her a shy smile.

"I'll just take this out to the trash" Willow said quietly as she carefully picked up the two halves of the sword and headed into the kitchen.

"We'll tidy up in the morning" Buffy said to Dawn giving her a push to the stairs,

"You have school tomorrow, bed"

Grumbling to herself she climbed the stairs while Buffy locked the door and turned the lamps off, following Dawn as she tiredly trudged up the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episodes Hells Bells and Normal Again with mention of As You Were and.**

Chapter 7

Giles had promised her he would make the wedding, telling her that he was still searching for the prophecy and that he still had business with the coven.

That was last week and she hadn't heard from him since.

Buffy had told him of Rileys surprise visit and the Suvolte demon he and his wife Sam were tracking. It had turned out that Spike had let the thing lay it's eggs in his crypt and had been laying low after she and Riley had blown it up to kill all the demon babies.

She still giggled when she thought of Rileys reaction to seeing her pregnant and his face when he found out they were Giles' was priceless.

Now Buffy and Willow were standing in her room staring in horror at their reflections. Both were wearing extremely ugly shiny teal dresses, Buffys was sleeveless and Willow had elbow length sleeves, both had a large green flower over the heart and ruffles on the sleeves and the skirts from knee to floor.

"Buffy it's hideous. Oh my God Buffy look at it's arms!"

"I know but it's my duty. God! With my ever expanding stomach I look like something that should be floating over a football stadium!"

Willow giggled but seeing Buffys glare she made an effort to be serious. Buffys lips twitched and soon they were both laughing.

"Have you heard from Giles?" Willow asked, Buffy stopped laughing and frowned,

"No, not since last week, he said he'd make it but I have a bad feeling he's not coming"

"Has Xander heard from him?"

"As of yesterday, no, but I haven't seen him since then"

Anya came in then, wearing a bathrobe and gasped, her hands flying to her mouth,

"Oh, ohh. You guys look so beautiful!" She walked over and hugged them both missing the look between them,

"This is the happiest day of my whole life"

Lightening flashed followed by the deep roll of thunder as the heavens opened.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The wedding had been a disaster, Giles hadn't been able to make it telling Xander that he was ensconced in the coven and unable to leave, he had also told Xander to tell Buffy he was sorry and that he'd be able to speak to her soon.

A demon had crashed the wedding, telling Xander that he was his future self and showed him a fake future that turned out to be his worst fears. It resulted in him telling Anya he couldn't marry her. The demon turned out to be one of Anyas victims from when she was a vengeance demon and he just wanted to ruin her life the way she ruined his.

That had been a week a go, Anya and Xander had both disappeared, no one had seen either of them and they were ignoring their calls. She still hadn't heard from Giles. She was starting to really worry about him because the bond was non existent, not even static, plus being almost thirty four weeks pregnant with twins was not helping her anxiety levels.

Looking for the merry band of nerds was not helping her control her temper either.

Willow had printed off a list of addresses that she got when Buffy had been invisible girl and Buffy was using it, going house to house. It was all she could do now, her enormous bump made fighting practically impossible so Spike had taken over patrolling again.

She had been looking since she had dropped Dawn off at her friends house to work on a science project, now it was dark and she was cold, tired and her feet were very sore. Grumbling to herself, promising pain to the nerds when she found them, she looked down at the list then back up to the house in front of her then walked toward it to look in the windows.

As she was walking around the building, looking in windows, she heard a horn sound. Shrugging she kept going and found a dark alley containing a pickup truck and a car, she kept walking looking down at the list then back up to the house again when something dropped from the roof and landed behind her.

She spun around and saw an ugly demon with waxy skin and weird marble like eyes, it growled at her and stalked towards her.

"Oh, hi. You didn't by chance happen to just eat a couple of nerds, did you?" she asked it then she leaned back as the demon took a swing at her.

Already off balance thanks to her bump she fell back against the car, rolling to the side she narrowly missed its fist which smashed the window where her head had been a few seconds before.

She kicked at its knees then hit it with an upper cut knocking it back but it recovered quickly and grabbed her, swinging her round it threw her against the car. She put her hands out and stopped herself before she hit it bump first, the demon took advantage and grabbed her around the shoulders, holding its arm away from her she noticed a bony spike protruding from its fist,

"Oh crap!" she said struggling harder against the demons grip.

It brought its hand down and stabbed her in the shoulder, Buffy screamed as she fell against the car.

When she came to she was alone, the demon gone and she was still leaning against the car.

Frowning in confusion she looked down at her belly reassuring herself that it was still there, the dream she had had while unconscious had felt so real. She stood up and winced, looking down at her shoulder she remembered being stabbed,

"Oh fuck!" she said aloud. She was bleeding.

She raced home as fast as she could before the babies had their inevitable growth spurt.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Willow found her lying on the floor of her room a little while later, dried blood on the sleeve of her shirt and a much bigger belly than she had had that morning.

"Oh shit! Buffy! Buffy?" She shook her trying to rouse her but she wouldn't wake, she heard the front door open and Xander call out his hellos.

"Xander!" she yelled, "Buffys hurt" She heard his thundering footsteps on the stairs and a few seconds later he burst into Buffys room.

"Will, what happened?" he asked rushing forward, "Where's Dawn?"

"Dawns at her friends house working on a project, I don't know what happened, I just found her like this and I can't wake her up" Willow looked up at Xander, her eyes wide with fear.

"Let's get her on the bed" He bent down and slid his hands under her shoulders as Willow slid her arms under her knees and together they lifted her and moved her the few feet to her bed.

Xander grabbed the blanket from her chair as Willow took her boots off. After they had covered her Willow sat next to her and placed a hand on her head.

"Xand can you get a cold wash cloth from the bathroom, she feels like she has a fever"

He left and she put a hand on her friends belly. As she did she felt it harden, she watched the clock and a minute ticked by before it relaxed.

She still had her hand on top of her belly and was staring at the clock when Xander came back with the cold cloth,

"What's happening? Is she ok?"

"Uh, actually, I think she's in labour. I'm just waiting for another contraction to see how far apart they are" she said taking the cloth from Xander and placing it on Buffys forehead.

A few minutes later her stomach hardened and she sat up screaming.

"Gah!" Xander screamed and fell back.

"Eeep!" Willow squeaked and fell off of the bed.

"Buffy what happened?" she asked as she scrambled off the floor.

"Waxy demon….spike coming from fist…..stabbed me…..where am I?" she panted as the contraction subsided.

"You're at home and it looks like you're in labour" Xander said coming forward and sitting on the other side of her.

"Keep dreaming…...I'm in a mental hospital…...feels so real" She said.

"Ok, Xand, you stay here, I'm gonna research this demon and call Tara, she's was taught how to do this by that council doctor before he left, plus, you know, she can still use magic which might help" Willow said standing up and moving to the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later she had sent Xander to get Spike and look for the demon so they could make an antidote. Tara was upstairs with Buffy helping her through her labour, the contractions hadn't increased yet which was good but Buffy was slipping in and out of the hallucination and growing increasingly confused.

Willow came into the bedroom as Buffy was having a contraction, curled on her side around her bump as she panted in pain, Tara sitting by her head gently applying a cold wash cloth to her cheeks and forehead.

"How is she?" Willow asked standing in the doorway.

"She called out for Joyce a few minutes ago but I think she was just coming out of her hallucination. When she's lucid she calls for Giles."

"He still hasn't been in contact?" She asked shocked that he would leave it this long.

Tara shook her head sadly as she looked down at Buffy and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Hopefully Xander and Spike will be back with the demon soon so I can make the antidote" Willow said as she stood next to the bed, "I'm going to need alkanet root and a handful of nettle leaf, medicinal only, no magic"

"I'll go when they open" Tara said looking up at her, "It's nearly dawn and she still has a way to go, Xander can drive me to make it quicker"

"How long does she have left?"

"It's hard to say. The contractions are happening between five and ten minutes apart and are lasting between forty five and ninety seconds. It could be hours yet"

"Mom?" Buffy moaned, her eyelids flickering as a tear escaped and ran down her face into the pillow.

Willows eyes welled with tears as she realized that her mom must be with her in the hallucination. She had told her about the institution her parents put her in when she first became a slayer during a lucid moment earlier. She was scared that this life with them and Giles and the babies was only in her head and she was still in that place.

Tara leaned over Buffy and took Willows hand, giving it a squeeze she smiled at her, her own eyes filled with tears.

"Giles?"

"Ssh, Buffy, sleep" Tara said stroking her head from her temple to her cheek.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Giles could feel Buffys pain. He knew she was in labour and he was cursing himself for not being there to hold her hand, guide her through it. He could also feel her confusion and fear but as the bond was blocked by the protective wards of the coven, he couldn't get any more than that.

He sat in his room, looking out on the fields behind the house, tears coursing down his face as he felt another sudden rush of pain.

"Oh, my love, I am so sorry" he whispered and buried his head in his hands.

He had found the prophecy a few days before and had felt a great sense of relief as he read it as it meant that Buffy would reach old age.

' _The twice resurrected Slayers will now live a long life._

 _Her Watcher will be her soul mate, their destiny is together._

 _The Slayer will bare two with magic and two who will be Slayers stronger together._

 _She will bare one who will be Watcher to both Slayers, gifted beyond any mortal._

 _Immune to darkness and guided by both Slayer and Watcher, they will never be defeated in battle.'_

Five children. Each one gifted and immune to darkness. He couldn't help but be a little fearful of what was in store for them. Will the babies have conscious access to their magic? Or will it be instinctual like it is now?

The questions were endless but there was hope to be had, he was going to be a father soon and even though he wouldn't get to see them born, he knew they would be safe and loved encircled by their little family.

His hands itched to hold Buffy but it wouldn't be long now and he would be back by her side. The coven seers said that the darkness on the hellmouth was closer, the sequence of events already in motion that would trigger another apocalypse.

 _Soon my love, soon_ he thought as he felt a stronger wave of pain.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had the antidote. It had taken a while to brew and it was nearly dark again, Buffy had been in labour for nearly twenty four hours. Willow took the cup to Buffy and Tara sat behind her to hold her up as she drank it. She gagged as she swallowed and once it was gone she slumped forward asleep, Tara slid out from behind her and laid her down on the pillows brushing her hair back.

Willow and Xander sighed in relief, Spike walked out and headed to the basement to kill the demon passing Dawn as she was walking up the stairs with a tray of drinks and snacks for the guys and a cup of ice chips and a plate of toast for Buffy that Willow had asked her to put together. She had been kept downstairs by Willow so she wouldn't see Buffy, anxiously pacing and flinching every time she heard her scream.

"How is she? Did it work?" she asked as she sat the tray on top of Buffys dresser.

"Yeah she's fine, she's sleeping now" Willow said taking a cup of herbal tea from her and passing it to Tara then she grabbed hers and sat cross legged on the floor against Buffys closet.

Xander walked over and took his coffee and a biscuit and sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"Now we just wait for the babies to come" he said around a mouthful of biscuit.

"Won't be long now. The contractions are more regular and lasting longer" Tara said just as Buffy let out a cry and sat up, her legs bent at the knee and open.

"Oh God! That hurt" She said as she lay back, Willow gave her an ice chip to suck on.

"You still in the loony bin?" Dawn asked ignoring the looks from Xander and Willow.

"Yep, I'm visiting you" Buffy replied smiling.

Everybody breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little, laughing.

"Aah! It's happening again" She grunted as the pain over took her and she resumed the same position.

Tara took charge and ordered Xander to sit behind Buffy, she told Willow and Dawn to get some towels, warm water, the first aid kit and the bag that she had brought with her.

Buffy propped herself up to allow Xander to sit behind her then let her head fall against his shoulder, gripping his hands as another contraction took hold.

"Aah! Man Buffy, mere mortal over here remember? Watch your grip" He said shaking his hands to get the blood flowing again, hoping she hadn't broken anything.

"Sorry Xand"

Instead of holding her hand, Xander gripped her forearms and let her push against his hands as another contraction ripped through her.

"Breath Buffy. Just relax" he said as he rubbed her shoulders.

"Why don't you try pushing a bowling ball out of your ass, see how fucking relaxed you'd be" Buffy snapped, grunting as she felt the need to push when the next contraction hit.

Dawn giggled as she handed Tara her bag and the towels,

"Not such a good idea, pissing off a Slayer Xand" she said.

"Yeah, got it, thanks, although Anya would probably enjoy seeing me push a bowling ball outta my ass" he said looking sad.

"Oh Xand, I'm sorry" Buffy said between grunts.

Willow came in with the warm water and the first aid kit and set it on the floor next to Tara.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked as she sat on the bed next to them.

"Maybe later, little busy right now Will" he said giving her a small smile.

"Xander can you lift Buffy a little so I can put this under her?" Tara asked holding up a towel, "And you might wanna close your eyes while I take her pants off"

"Oh God, okay will do" He braced his arms under Buffy and lifted a little, his eyes tightly shut as he felt a tugging from Buffys body.

"Okay Xand, you can put her down and open your eyes now" Tara said.

"Can't put her down right now she's having another contraction, and pushing, yep, she's pushing"

Tara looked under the towel over Buffys legs and her eyes widened in shock,

"Okay, we have a head showing, next contraction push hard Buffy okay"

Buffy just grunted, then leaned away from Xander as she felt another coming. Tara folded the towel up and held her hand to the baby's head, encouraging her on.

Buffy forcefully exhaled as she stopped pushing and sunk back against Xander,

"I want Giles here for this" she whispered.

"I know, Buff, but he wouldn't miss this without a good reason" Xander said rubbing her arm.

She groaned as she pushed herself up and pushed again, a few seconds later they heard a cry and Tara held the baby up, Willow holding out a towel for her.

"It's Danielle" she said smiling before taking the clamps and scissors from the bed, clamping the umbilical cord before cutting it. She wrapped her up in a towel then handed her to Buffy, who hadn't taken her eyes off of her since she appeared.

"She's beautiful" she said in a hushed voice, smiling when Danielle whimpered and began to cry.

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay baby girl, I'm here" she cooed and Danielle quieted immediately.

She looked back at Xander then at Willow then over at Dawn and Tara, a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes,

"I'm a mom" she said thickly, looking back at Danielle.

Willow leaned over and placed a hand on her chest as Xander reached up and placed his hand on her head,

"Welcome to the scooby gang Dani" he said.

"She's amazing Buff" Willow said then stepped back and snapped a photo.

"Uh oh" looking over at Dawn as she felt another contraction coming she said, "Can you take her Aunty Dawn, her brother wants to meet us now"

Dawn hurried forward, her arms out stretched and gently took her new niece from her sister, staring down at her as she sat in the chair next to the bed gently brushing her hand over her head.

Half an hour later Buffy let out a scream as she pushed, Tara smiled and said,

"He has dark hair"

Buffy grinned as she panted then she bore down and a few minutes later Alexander was born, Xander let out a wet laugh as his name sake was handed to his mother,

"Hey, mini G-man" he said looking over Buffys shoulder as Willow took another photo.

Dawn came back to the bed with Danielle and sat next to Buffy,

"Well done mommy" She said smiling.

"Buffy, the placentas are coming now, it's going to feel a little weird but it should be painless" Tara said as she shook out a bag, Buffy just nodded as she stared at her children.

She couldn't believe how much she loved them, far more than she ever thought it was possible to love anything.

They were perfect. She felt a tugging sensation then something squidgy came out of her, a few minutes later it happened again. She hadn't taken her eyes off of them.

"Buffy?" Willow said gently.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to clean them up now and Xanders going to move so you can relax for a bit before you can have a bath." Willow said putting her hand on her shoulder and smiling down at her.

"Okay, yeah a bath does sound good" She said looking up at Willow. She noticed Tara taking the bag she had put the placentas in out of the bedroom,

"What are you doing with them?" she asked her.

"I'm going to destroy them with magic so they don't leave a trace, better safe than sorry" she said smiling at her.

"Thank you Tara, for everything"

"Not necessary, I'm just glad I could help" she ducked her head, blushing, and left.

Spike walked into the room as Buffy handed Alex over to Willow and let Xander help her scoot back on the bed.

"Well done Slayer. Demons taken care of downstairs and I'll take over patrolling for a bit til you're back to normal." he said looking over at the twins,

"Cute little snack packs" he said grinning at her.

"Shut up Spike" she snapped, wincing as she tried to sit up a little more,

"And thanks for taking patrol, I'll owe you one"

"You might regret that blondie" he said pulling a cigarette out of the box and putting it to his lips,

"I'm off, smell of the blood is driving me crazy" with a wave he left.

Buffy watched as Willow and Dawn laid the babies on her bed and unwrapped them, gently pulling a warm cloth over their skin as they washed and dressed them, Dawn copying everything Willow did.

Xander pulled the bassinets over so they could be laid down.

He stayed with them so Dawn and Willow could help Buffy to the bath while Tara changed her bed sheets.

The water stung as she sat down but the pain soon went. She laid back and poked her now squishy belly, it felt weird knowing it was empty but, thanks to Slayer healing, she'd probably be back to normal in a few days.

She washed and stood up, her legs still a little shaky, and dried herself with the towel Willow had left on the toilet seat. She looked in disgust at the thick sanitary pad she had to use and the big panties she had to wear but she put them on anyway, glad for the first time that Giles wasn't here to see it. She pulled on her nightie, pulled the plug from the bath, washed her hands and face then brushed her teeth.

The babies were fussing when she got back to her room, Willow was still taking pictures of them and all four of them were cooing and ahhing at them.

"They sound hungry" she said slowly lowering herself on the bed.

"How're you gonna do this Buff?" Xander asked picking Danielle up as she was making more of a fuss.

"Her first, then Alex" she said holding her arms up for her daughter.

Xander handed her over then turned his back so she could latch her onto a nipple.

Danielle sucked hungrily on her mothers breast for a solid half hour, when she was full her mouth relaxed and the nipple fell out of her mouth. Buffy tucked herself away and put her on her shoulder, gently patting her back until she burped then handed her to Dawn to lay her in her crib.

She repeated the process with Alexander on the other breast then lay down facing her children, eyes closing as the others quietly left the room wishing her goodnight. The last thing she saw before sleep took her was Willow pulling Dawn away from the babies and out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The babies slept through the night which Buffy was grateful for. When she awoke she found a rose on her pillow with a note,

 _My wonderful, amazing, beautiful Buffy._

 _I love you beyond words._

 _I'm sorry I wasn't there but I could feel it all. The wards around the covens property prevent me from sending out and I can only sense strong emotions from you._

 _You dazzle me with your strength, thank you for my children._

 _Thank the others for me, I'll be forever grateful to them for being there for you when I could not._

 _Forever and always_

 _Your Ru xx_

Buffy smiled and smelled the rose as she slid off of the bed to see her children.

Her stomach had shrunk by half over night and she no longer felt the sting between her legs.

The babies were still sleeping so she went to the bathroom, grimacing as she saw her pad. After having a quick wash she returned to the bedroom and stared down at her children, resisting the urge to pick them up.

She turned as she heard a light knock at the door and saw Dawn standing there a huge smile on her face. Buffy beckoned her over and she practically ran towards her.

Slipping her arm through Buffys she whispered,

"They are so adorable"

"Yeah, they are, did you sleep?"

"Like a log, you?"

"Same, they didn't wake once"

"That's a good right?" Dawn asked looking at her. Buffy nodded still staring at the sleeping bundles.

"You need to come downstairs" Dawn said pulling away, she turned the monitors on and took the speaker as she pulled Buffy to the door.

"Why? What's downstairs?" Buffy asked letting her sister pull her forward.

"You'll see" Dawn smiled at her, her eyes twinkling.

Buffy smelled the flowers halfway down the stairs, gasping in surprise when she saw the sheer volume of them. They were all over the dining table, on the mantel above the fire place, on the window ledge. Dozens of roses and lilies, gerberas and freesia, iris', tulips, orchids, babies breath and curly willow.

Buffy blinked the tears from her eyes once it was too blurry to see.

"They just appeared over night" Willow said putting an arm around Buffys shoulder.

"They're from Giles" Buffy said quietly wiping her eyes, "he must have had the coven send them. I woke up to a rose on my pillow with a note from him" Buffy told her what it said.

"That's so sweet. You're a lucky lady Buff"

"Don't I know it" she said smiling at her best friend.

The babies voiced their opinion of daddy's gift and they all laughed as Buffy went to her children.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episode Entropy.**

Chapter 8

The twins were a week old and Buffy couldn't believe how good they were. They were also the exact opposite of each other, Dani would fidget moving her arms or kicking her legs whereas Alex was always so still and calm. Dani had inherited her blond hair and Alex his fathers brown, both of them had started to get curls.

Buffy had healed completely and was patrolling through one of Sunnydales many cemetery's, the twins were still sleeping through the night much to Buffys surprise but even if they weren't she had no shortage of baby sitters.

The scoobies had rallied and were always there helping her. Xander had taken Willow and Dawn to the mall the day after the birth and armed with the credit card Giles had sent they had bought everything she still needed for the babies including a breast pump that Xander had stuttered and blushed over. Dani and Alex now had draws full of pretty little dresses, cute romper suits and footy pajamas. Xander bought them a huge teddy bear, big enough that Buffy could lay one in each arm. Willow had snapped a picture of them just as they had both opened their eyes, Buffy had it in a frame on her bed side table. She wanted to send Giles a few pictures but when she called the council asking for his contact information they had said that he was unreachable.

Buffys spidey sense tingled, snapping her out of her head and away from thoughts of Giles, she looked around and saw two vampires running towards her.

She jogged closer waiting for them to run through the gate, as they did she hit the first vamp and tried to grab the second but he twisted from her grip.

He kicked at her but she blocked it hit, hit him and threw him into the gate turning as he fell to the ground, tackling the other vamp moving them both away from the gate.

She got him in a strangle hold and tried to stake him but he had hold of her arm, she saw Spike lift the other vamp into the air as he sat on top of the pillar next to the gate. The vamp in front of her took advantage of her distraction and pulled free, punching her he threw her to the ground, reaching for her throat.

"How you doin'?" Spike called still holding the vamp in the air.

"Same old same old" She said holding the vamp on top of her off.

"I could take care of this guy if you want" he said looking down at the struggling vamp.

"Whatever" she kicked the vampire off of her and flipped to her feet, "your call Spike"

"I mean sure he don't look like much, but I'd wager he could give you a bit o' nasty. Save you a staking, all you gotta do is…."

Buffy had kicked and thrown the vamp she was fighting to the ground as he was talking. She staked him and looked up at Spike,

"I'm not going to sleep with you Spike, I'm not gonna kiss you or let you even touch me in that way. I'm with Giles, I love Giles, he is the father of my children. So do what you want with the vamp, I don't care" she said, glaring at him.

She started to turn as Spike dropped the vamp. It hit the ground and ran straight at Buffy.

"I love you Buffy" Spike called out to her. The vampire stopped and looked back at Spike in confusion as Buffy turned back and staked him. She walked away not even acknowledging his statement.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy and Dawn were walking around the mall window shopping while Willow was with Tara. She had already bought her a pair of boots as a thank you for her help over the last few months and were now looking for an outfit to match.

"Are Will and Tara getting back together?" Dawn asked as she looked at a pair of jeans.

"Looks that way" Buffy crouched down and replaced Dani's pacifier, shushing her and rubbing her tummy until she went back to sleep.

"I really hope they do. Can I have these?" She asked holding up a pair of jeans with embroidery around the pockets.

"Sure, get that top too, it goes with the jeans"

Dawn squealed in delight and hugged Buffy, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou. You're the worlds best big sister" she said

"I'll remember that when Alex needs his diaper changed later" Buffy said smirking at her as she manoeuvred the double buggy towards the cash register.

"I want to buy some new underwear, would you wait outside the shop with them?"

"Sure, I don't wanna see what you buy anyway 'cause it'll turn out to be something that's slutty and sexy and for Giles to drawl over if he ever comes back" Dawn said opening her bag and pretending to throw up in it. Laughing she dodged Buffys slap and stood behind the buggy as Buffy went into the lingerie shop.

They hung out at the mall, window shopping, buying little bits for the twins and vegging at the food court, Dawn stuffing her face with a jacket potato while Buffy ate her fries with one hand as she fed the twins, a blanket draped over her shoulder, neither of them in a rush to get home.

The next morning Dawn came into the kitchen to see the kitchen island covered in breakfast foods. There were boxes of cereal lined up as well as bowls of fruit and four kinds of syrup. Buffy was in her dressing gown with her hair up in a messy bun.

"Have we become the international house of something?" Dawn asked as she sat and watched Buffy place the last pancake on a stack next to the cooker.

Putting the frying pan in he sink, Buffy picked up the plate of pancakes, set them on the counter and turned back, leaning over she took the toast from the toaster and put the slices on a plate in front of Dawn.

"Nope. I was up early and it felt like a breakfast kind of morning plus the twins were unusually fussy last night, Alex was just as fidgety as Dani, they weren't hungry or gassy, they just wanted to be held, together…."

"How much coffee have you had?" Dawn asked smirking at how jittery she was.

"Only one" she said, "I haven't had coffee in a while so the caffeine's hit my blood stream fast. I expressed some milk this morning so you could feed them and I have some in the freezer they can have later so I figured why not, live a little"

Dawn laughed as she helped herself to pancakes and fruit, pouring herself a glass of juice she looked at her sister,

"What are you doing today?"

"Laundry, cleaning and sharpening my weapons and housework. Wanna help?"

"A most emphatic no! But I will feed the twins this morning while you have a shower and get dressed"

"Really? Thank you so much, I haven't had time for a decent shower since they were born what with patrolling and everything" she said a wide smile on her face.

"Okay it's just a shower"

"It is sooo much more than that" Buffy said hugging her sister before running up the stairs to the shower.

Later that day, Anya came to the house but she wouldn't come inside and looked sad when Buffy told her about the twins so they stood outside facing each other across the porch.

"I don't think he could feel any worse" Buffy said as they talked about Xander.

"Let's test that theory"

"Anya, Xander's my friend. I know what he did was wrong, and….if it'd happened to me, I'd..."

"Wish his penis would explode" Anya said hopefully.

Buffy sighed, "I don't really think I should"

"Did I mention the whole 'left at the altar' thing? Didn't leave that out, did I?" she said as she sat down on the steps.

Buffy shook her head sadly and joined her, "No. Look. He knows what he did was wrong and if it _had_ happened to me I…..I, it must have been torture"

"Okay, let's talk about torture"

"Anya, I'm not gonna talk about Xander like that"

"But guys have been running roughshod over you for years, torturing that perky little ticker. Aren't you sick of it? Don't you just wish..."

"No, I don't. The way I look at it is they left me so I could be with Giles and look what I have because of him" Buffy said, "Anya, I know you're hurting, but..."

"But what? Xander doesn't deserve to suffer for what he did 'cause he's your friend and I'm not, right?"

"No! No, that's not what I'm saying at all. He is suffering. He knows what he did was wrong, he knows that."

"It just, it hurts. He hurt me so much" she looked down.

Buffy put a hand on her arm, "He really did. Look, I..I wish that..."

"Anya?" Xander called as he walked up to the porch.

"Well, congratulations, they all still love you. Even after what you did to me" She said angrily then stormed off.

Xander started to follow her but Buffy grabbed him and held him back.

"Anya, wait..." he called after her.

"Okay, not crazy about that idea" Buffy said holding his arm.

"What are you doing? I have to go after her"

"Or, in the land of the sane, you could give her some space, let her cool down"

"That's not Proactive Guy" he said frustrated and he started to pace, "That's Sit-Around-And-Watch-The-Rest-Of-Your-Life-Turn-To-Crap Guy"

"True, uh, but at least Crap Guy gets to keep all of his appendages"

"And I'm supposed to what? Walk away? Shouldn't be too hard. It's what I'm good at, right?"

"Xander.." Buffy jumped as he kicked a garden gnome that was in front of the tree in her garden.

"Okay, see, that's exactly why a heart-to-heart is probably not a good idea right now. You're both angry and upset and….and what the hell is that creepy little thing doing in my yard?"

She walked forward looking down at the bits of gnome.

"Did Will put that there 'cause if I had known I would have crawled out of my grave sooner…."

"Buffy"

They both knelt beside the gnomes head as Xander picked up a tiny camera.

"Oh my god"

"Looks like someones been watching you for a while, keeping an eye on all of your ins and outs" Xander said looking at her

"What the…. Who?" Buffy said shocked and feeling slightly sick.

"Well now lets see. Who's obsessed with Buffy? Who likes to hang out in her yard and is constantly dropping sexual innuendos?"

"Spike! No way, it's not his style. Why would he plant a camera when he's invited in? He could walk into the house and just watch me sleep. Besides where is he gonna watch the feed? You've been to his crypt, did you see any equipment that he'd need for this?" She said, standing up she began to pace, thinking of people who could bug her house.

"Okay, yeah, point taken. But if it's not Captain Peroxide then who could it be?" Xander stood and followed Buffy into the house, the twins beginning to cry.

Buffy bent down over the travel cot and picked Dani up, turning she handed her to Xander,

"I have no clue, most of my enemies think along the lines of 'must kill the slayer' not exactly geniuses" she said as she picked up Alex.

"Wonder if there are any more cameras?" he ventured as he looked around the room, bouncing Dani in his arms.

"I think we should call our resident hacker extraordinaire to see if she can trace the signal from that one" she said rubbing little circles on Alex's tummy.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy sat at the end of the table watching Willow work. The twins had just gone down for the night and Buffy didn't know if she was hungry or just tired.

"Here?" Xander said setting a plate in front of her. She looked up at him then down at the sandwich he had made her.

"Thanks Xand, you're my hero" she said gratefully, picking up half she took a bite and moaned in delight, "S'good, fank oo" she mumbled over the food.

"You hadn't eaten all day and if Giles found out I had let you starve then I have a feeling I would get to meet Ripper for the first time" he said smiling as she finished the half in three bites.

Swallowing, Buffy shook her head at him, "He'd be more annoyed with me than he would be with you. Besides," she paused and grinned at him, "Ripper can be really fun to play with"

"Ah! Bad, bad images, evil bitch, last time I make you a sandwich" Xander said glaring at her and shaking his head to banish his thoughts.

Buffy laughed then finished her food. Looking over at Willow she saw her fingers flying over the keyboard,

"Talk to me Will."

"Technology's pretty sophisticated, lot's of booby traps and firewalls..."

"But can you get us a location?"

"Well, hey, I'm still me. Just one….whoa"

"What?" Xander said.

"There are other cameras"

"What where?" Buffy said jumping up and moving next to Willow.

"Uh, the Bronze, my classes on campus, Xanders site, the Doublemeat Palace.."

"What!? I haven't worked there in months"

"They've been spying on all these places?" Xander asked leaning forward.

"I can tell there are more feeds, I, I'm just having a harder time pinpointing 'em. Here, lemme.." she started typing again.

"Here, I think there are a couple more transmitters on the network, I just...ucch, I've almost got a picture on 'em"

Buffy began to pace, _if they've been watching my babies I don't care who or what they are I'm going to kill them_ she thought.

"I think I've got the magic box" Willow says as she continued typing,

"Whoa!" She stood up quickly and Buffy gapes in horror at what she can see on the screen.

"What is it?" Xander asks getting up and moving over to them.

"Wait, Xander, no" Willow tried to block the screen from him.

"Oh god" Xander sees Anya and Spike screwing on the table at the magic box.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Dawn said cheerily as she walked into the room.

Willow covered her eyes as she watched Xanders reaction,

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't see this"

"I….what is she..." Xanders face had turned white and he looked between Buffy and Willow as if asking them to tell him he was seeing things.

Buffy was watching Xander process what he was seeing, finally she turned to Willow and told her to turn it off as Xander walked away in a daze.

"Uh, someone wanna tell me what's happening?" Dawn said sitting down next to Willow.

"Found a camera in that gnome out the front and Will hacked the signal, found loads of other places that had cameras" Buffy said sitting on Willows other side.

"Oh my god, Dani? Alex?" dawn said her eyes widening with shock and fear.

Buffy smiled, happy Dawn loved the twins so much, she had been afraid that she would be a little jealous or withdrawn but she hadn't been,

"They're fine. They're asleep. And Will didn't find any cameras in the house" Buffy reassured her.

Dawn sighed in relief then looked at Buffy, mischief sparkling in her eyes,

"Just as well, they would have made a mint selling the video of you in the shower the other day with Wills massager"

Willow started giggling as Buffys eyes widened and she blushed,

"Dawn!"

"What, thin walls and it has been a long time for you" she said shrugging.

Willow was now bent over holding her stomach as she laughed harder.

"Oh, you know what, screw you guys" Buffy said and walked out.

"Buffy, come on, we're just having a laugh" Dawn said jumping up to follow her sister,

"You make it too easy"

Willow managed to get her laughter under control and went back to typing as she tried to find the rest of the cameras and deactivate the transmitters.

She heard the front door open and looked up, realising she was alone she stood up and walked into the living room,

"Xander?" she looked around and saw the weapons chest open.

"Shit!" she ran into the kitchen.

Buffy stood on the porch crying and hugging herself. Dawn approached slowly,

"It was just a joke Buff" She said touching her sisters shoulder.

Buffy made a choking sound and turned to look at her, wiping her face,

"It's not that, although there will be payback don't get me wrong" she said giving her a small smile,

"I just miss Giles, he should be here helping me, experiencing everything right beside me….I'm starting to think I'm never going to see him again"

"Of course you will, Giles is just being book guy right now, trying to hunt down that prophecy and…..and he has all that stuff with the coven as well.." Dawn said putting her arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze.

"I know, I just….i just miss him. At least before I would have his voice in my head and I could talk to him, now….now I...I just feel empty" Buffy leaned her head on Dawns shoulder and hugged her back.

"He'll be back, I know he will"

"Buffy!" Willow burst through the door as she shouted her name,

"Xanders gone. So is your axe"

"Shit!" Buffy ran back into the house, calling over her shoulder, "He's probably gone to the magic box, stay here with the twins, hopefully I can get there before he kills Spike"

she grabbed her jacket and ran out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She turned the corner just as Xander took a swing at Spikes head with the axe. Spike ducked just in time and the axe got stuck in the wall, giving up on the axe he grabbed a handful of Spikes shirt and threw him on the floor.

He picked him up and threw him into a pillar, grabbed him and turning him around to face him he punched him in the stomach.

"GET UP! GET UP!" he shouted at him.

Buffy saw Spike glare at Xander but didn't move. She was running as hard as she could but she was still too far away.

"You just gonna sit there? Do Nothing?"

When Spike didn't answer him he grabbed him, pulled him to his feet and slammed his head into the pillar,

"That the kinda man you are?"

"Not gonna fight you. Chip." Spike said staring at him. Xander kneed him in the stomach and he groaned, doubling over.

"Too bad" Xander pulled a stake from his jacket just as Anya opened the door,

"Xander, no! Stop it! Stop it!" she said running towards them, distracting Xander.

Buffy reached them at the same time as Anya, pushing Xander aside, she stood there panting glaring at him as he glared at her.

"Xander, I…." Anya stuttered, for once speechless.

"Don't even try to deny it. 'Cause I saw it all. The whole beautiful show." Xander said angrily facing Anya.

"It was just, it...it was just a thing. I felt bad and he was there" Anya tried to explain looking between him and Buffy.

"Didn't take long did it" Buffy said her arms crossed, tensed, ready if Xander lunged at Spike.

"Shut up Buffy! How long was it after you dumped Riley did you jump your Watcher?" Anya said narrowing her eyes at Buffy.

"That's not the same and you know it! I wasn't in love with Riley, I was in love with Giles. Do you love Spike? 'Cause according to him he loves me"

"What? No I don't love….wait she's the reason you were looking for a love spell?!"

"Love spell! Oh you didn't? Tell me you weren't looking for something to….to….I'm gonna be sick" she looked at Xander who looked just as sick, "Gimme that stake" she said reaching for it but he held it away from her.

"It wasn't for you! It was for me, to make me forget, you stupid bint!" Spike shouted holding his hands up, "you were never gonna see me not with your Watcher in the picture"

She gave up trying for the stake and stared at Spike,

"Even if I wasn't with Giles it would never happen. You have no soul! I can't trust you"

"You trusted me with Dawn"

"Yeah because you're neutered, you can't hurt her"

Xander turned back to Anya still angry,

"So he was just there, you had to do it, like Mt Everest, like I used to be"

"And then you weren't. You left _me_ Xander, at the altar, I don't owe you anything!" she yelled at him.

"So you go out and bang the first body you find, dead or alive?"

"Where do you get off judging me!?"

"When this is your solution. What, I hurt you so you hurt me right back? Vary mature."

"No, the mature solution would be to have you tell stupid, pointless jokes for the rest of your life so no one notices you're just a scared, insecure little boy"

Xander smiled bitterly at her,

"I'm not joking now. You let that evil, soulless thing touch you. You wanted me to feel something? Congratulations, it worked."

Anya stared at him, eyes filling with tears.

"I look at you….and I feel sick. 'Cause you had sex with that" he pointed at Spike who was glaring at him.

Anya looked hurt and Buffy felt a little sorry for her. She walked over to the axe and tugged it from the wall, walking back to Xander she looked at Anya and gave her a nod, pulling Xander away.

"Come on Xand I'll walk you home" They left Anya and Spike standing there.

"Isn't it the mans job to walk the woman home?" Xander mumbled, his head down.

"Not in this town big brother" She said taking his hand.

He looked up at her and gave her a small smile, "Brother?"

"Of course, you and Will have been my family from the beginning, how else could you bug the crap outta me and get away with it?"

His smile widened and he tightened his grip on her hand,

"Thanks Buff"

"Anytime" she smiled back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episode Seeing Red**

 **WARNING:- Contains a scene of attempted rape.**

Chapter 9

Buffy kicked in the basement door of the house Willow traced the signal from the cameras to.

"Alright lets make this quick" She said as she started down the stairs.

She looked around, no nerds, plenty of geek paraphernalia.

"Fine, but I'm not leaving until we have a little chat"

She walked over to the desk and picked up some of the papers that were scattered over it.

"Very little considering the pummeling that needs to occur"

She looked at a shelf covered in action figures, mostly half naked women, she pokes one then turns around.

"I mean, guys, helloooo. Slayer here. Did you honestly think I wouldn't find you..."

She got distracted by more piles of paper and file folders on a chair, sifting through it she picks some up, frowns at it then adds it to the pile in her hand. She sees a white board and tilts it so she can read it, the surface is clean except for the words _TOO LATE!_

Buffy frowned at it, "Well that can't be good"

She hears a buzz saw start up and it cuts straight through the board. Buffy covered her face and dived to the floor just in time to avoid being sliced in two. Several more saws appear moving around the room, some horizontally, some vertically and some diagonally.

She flipped between two of them and grabs a random pile of paper and other stuff then runs up the stairs, narrowly missing one burying itself in the stairs behind her. She burst through the door, the papers flying out of her hands.

She pushed herself to her knees and looked down at her jacket which had been sliced,

"Okay, that's gonna cost ya, Giles bought me this"

She gathered the papers and the book she had grabbed and headed home, the twins were due to wake up soon and she hadn't expressed anything so her breasts were a little sore.

Willow and Tara were standing in the living room holding a baby each when she got back, both of them looking happy,

"Well don't you guys look well…..rested" Buffy said trying to fight a smile.

"Buffy! I won, I said they would get back together yesterday and I was right" Dawn said bouncing on to the sofa and holding her hand out.

"Fine, here" Buffy handed her sister the ten bucks she had dug from her pocket.

"You guys made a bet?" Willow asked blushing as she rocked Dani.

"Well yeah, I said you'd get back together tomorrow, Dawn said yesterday" she smiled down at Dani sucking on Willows knuckle then kissed her head.

She walked to Tara and kissed Alex who was very content in his Aunts arms, looking up at Tara she asked, "So which one of you asked for the split to be over?"

"I...I...it w..was m...me, why?" Taras blush disappeared into her hairline.

"'Cause now I have to give this back" Dawn said pouting giving her sister back the money.

"You bet on that too" Willow said looking shocked.

"Yeah, and? You lot bet on me and Giles. Waited nearly two years to find out who won it but still"

"Fine. What happened to you!?" finally noticing Buffys jacket.

"Oh, uh, the geek trio set a trap, giant buzz saws" Buffy said putting the stack of papers down and shrugging out of her ruined jacket, throwing it over the back of the sofa.

"Buzz _saws_ , as in more than one?" Willow handed Dani over to be fed, not happy with Aunty Willows knuckle anymore.

She picked up some of the papers and sat down next to the coffee table as she looked at them,

"What's all this?"

Buffy situated Dani, wincing as she sucked harder on her nipple than usual, having been kept waiting for her food.

"It's all I could save before the saws hit, it's not much I know, hopefully it'll help"

Willow stood with the computer disks that had been sandwiched between some of the papers,

"I'll get started on these" she said then walked to Tara, giving her kiss and smiling at her.

"Aww" Buffy said happily.

"Okay, all right, we'll stop" Willow said kissing her again.

"Oh, you'd better not" Dawn said jumping up and taking Alex, smiling at them as she sat back down next to Buffy.

Alex sensed his mom and sister and opened his eyes, giving his mom a sleepy smile. Buffy cooed at him and stroked his cheek, his eyes were exactly like his fathers, that same beautiful jade green colour, he even had the brown spot in the same spot in his left eye.

Dawn snuggled him closer, kissing his head.

"I'll look over these papers, see if I can find anything useful" Tara said smiling down at them, her arm around Willows waist.

"I'll come help when these two are sorted" Buffy said as they left.

"I'm gonna head over to Janice's house, we're heading to the mall so Janice can buy her mom a birthday present"

"Ok, but no more clothes for the twins, they have so many they probably won't get to wear most of 'em" Buffy said giving Dawn a look.

"Okay" she said pouting, then she brightened, "What about a new teddy each? Or a blanket?"

"Fine, I guess I can't stop you doing that" Buffy grinned at her sisters smile.

Dawn put Alex in his rocker and raced upstairs to change leaving Buffy humming softly to them as Dani fed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy visited Xander when it looked like the only thing that was of use was the disks. They had found some papers with what looked like a demonic language on them, but they couldn't decipher them.

Xander opened the door with a beer in his hand,

"Hey" Xander stood back and let her in.

"Hey" Buffy looked around as she walked in, sighing at the amount of empty beer bottles.

"She loves you. You know that. Anya was just hurting and she did this really stupid thing. We've all been there, remember Parker? My stupid thing over Angel leaving and fighting my feelings for Giles especially after seeing him with Olivia" Buffy said as she sat down next to him.

"But with Spike?!"

"Yeah. But when we do stupid things it's never with someone good"

"I know why Anya...I understand I do but….it, it just..."

"Hurts? Yeah I know" she said sighing, "when you're ready, we have some clues to the geek trios plans, maybe, I don't know, I just grabbed what I could before the buzz saws got me"

"Buzz saws?"

"Yeah, the big kind, cut that jacket Giles got me"

"Huh"

"Anyway, when you feel up to it maybe you can help me pummel 'em. Being the Slayer I can't properly beat on humans but it might make you feel better" she said smiling at him.

He lifted the corner of his mouth, "We'll see. I gotta go for a walk"

"Okay, well, maybe I'll see you later?" she said getting up.

"Maybe"

"Don't stay alone too long Xand, you have a house full of girls ready to fuss over you and two babies who miss their Uncle Xander" she said stopping by the door.

He smiled at that and looked at her, "They miss me? Buff, their like a week old, they miss your boob and that's it"

Buffy laughed and left him to it so she could patrol before Tara and Willow left to get some more clothes and a wash bag for Tara.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She was found a few vamps and had decided to head back when she was jumped by another one.

She blocked his punch, then he had spun around blocking her punch and kicked her in the chest, she executed a spin kick that sent him flying.

"Not bad. How hard are gonna hit when you're blowin' in the wind?" she asked as she dug her stake out of her back pocket.

He got up and attacked her again but as he leaped at her Buffy staked him. He dusted but his kick connected anyway. Buffy cried out in surprise, flying backwards into a headstone, shattering it and landing on the ground behind it.

She stayed on the ground groaning in pain,

"That, was a rhetorical question!" She shouted.

Getting up she winced in pain, "Ow"

She headed home holding her side.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She got home and sent Willow and Tara off, smiling at their entwined hands. She checked the twins and found them happily sleeping arms and legs stretched out, making sucking motions with their mouths. Smiling at them she carefully peeled off her clothes and underwear and slipped into her soft grey bathrobe.

She walked into the bathroom and slowly bent over to put the plug in and turn the taps. Reaching up, wincing as she did, she retrieved Taras healing oil and poured a little into the bath.

"You hurt? You're not moving so well" Spike said from the door way.

Sighing she moved away from him, leaning against the sink,

"Get out" she said not looking at him.

"We have to talk" he moved forward into the room and closing the door behind him.

Buffy looked at him, "I really don't"

Sighing Spike pushed the door shut, "Well this isn't about you"

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, "You spoke, I listened. Now leave"

Spike looked at the floor and sighed a little,

"I'm sorry. Not that it matters," he looked back up at her, "but I needed you to know that"

"Why?"

"Because I care about you"

Buffy huffed at him, "If you did, you wouldn't have slept with my friend, and you sure as hell wouldn't have tried to get a love spell to use..."

"I told you that I wanted it for me" he said smacking himself on his chest, "I wanted something, anything to make these feelings stop!"

Buffy looked surprised, until then she had thought he was lying and just wanted to use it on her.

"You should have let him kill me" Spike said softly, calmer now.

"I couldn't have done that"

"Why?"

"Because Xander was angry and even though he hates you, he respects you as a fighter and he would have regretted it"

"That's not the reason"

Buffy walked forward and bent to turn the taps off, holding her back as she did,

"Oh and what is the reason then?"

"You have feelings for me" he said moving towards her, "don't you?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't care. I don't trust you. Sure you're useful in a fight but that's it." she said turning to face him.

"I know you have feelings for me Buffy, you don't have to hide it anymore, Watcher boys not here"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Spike, please stop this"

"Let yourself feel it" he whispered, moving forward he put his hands on her waist and pulled her towards him.

"No..."

"You love me"

"Ow, no, stop it"

Buffy struggled to push him away, her back screaming in pain, as he tried to kiss her, groping her. She heard her bathrobe rip and felt his hands on her. She felt sick.

"Spike, no…..ow….what are you do.."

She lost her balance and fell backwards, her hands snatched at the shower curtain for balance but it ripped off the rod and Buffy fell, hitting her back on the side of the tub.

She screamed in pain but Spike ignored her, focused only on what he wanted. He moved on top of her and held her down, grabbing her face to kiss her as she continued trying to fight him off.

"Let go. Let yourself love me" he said his hands still groping.

"Please, get off…...ow…..Spike, no"

She twists over on her stomach trying to reach the door but he still has her pinned beneath him, he pulled her arms away from the door and flipped her back over.

She kept trying to fight him off, her strength affected by her injury and her fear,

"No, stop it" she yelled.

"I know you feel it..." his hands ripped at her robe, ripping it even more.

Buffy broke partly free and started crawling toward the door but Spike grabbed her ankle and pulled her back, flipping her over and pinning her hands to the floor.

"No, ow, ow!" she was crying now, screaming for Giles in her head not hearing anything, "please, please, Spike, please..."

"You'll feel it Buffy..."

"Please don't do this…."

"I'm gonna make you feel it"

He rips the front of her robe open, groaning at the sight of her breasts. Buffy screamed and struggled against him as he tried to get her robe off.

"Stop!" she yelled putting everything into one last shove, summoning her slayer strength and Spike flew back, crashing into the sink and wall.

Buffy got to her feet, holding her robe closed with one had, the shoulder torn exposing her skin. Spike stood panting, staring at her.

"Ask me again why I could never have feelings for you" she said through gritted teeth. She saw the realization of what he had been doing dawn on his face.

"Buffy, my god, I…." he said sounding horrified.

"Get out and don't come back. I never want to see you again" she said as a tear slid down her cheek.

Spike ran past her, down the stairs and out of the house.

Buffy slid to the floor and cried.

She was still sitting on the floor leaning against the bath when she heard Xander call her name. She didn't answer, couldn't bring herself to speak.

She heard him stomp up the stairs and head to the bathroom. He burst in holding Spikes leather jacket,

"Why's his jacket he…." he stopped as he took in Buffys appearance, she had been crying, still was, there were tears on her cheeks, "What did he do?"

He stared at her and saw the bruises on her legs, the ripped robe,

"Did he hurt you?" he asked crouching beside her.

"He tried. He didn't…." she said softly wiping at a tear.

"Son of a bitch!" he stood and turned to storm out.

"Don't"

He stopped in the doorway and stared at her, concerned.

"Please, just don't…..he's gone, I told him to never come back"

"What if he does?" he said quietly, controlling the rage inside him.

"Then you can stake him" she said looking up at him.

The front door slamming made them both jump, Willow rushed in,

"Hey I think we found something..." her smile faltered when she saw Xanders bloody face and Buffys bruised appearance, "what happened?"

"Nothing" Buffy said as she covered her leg with her robe ignoring Xanders look, "What'd you find out?"

"Get dressed and come downstairs, I'll show you" she said leaving the room.

"Have your bath, I'll check the kids and tell Willow you were injured in a fight" Xander said helping her stand.

"That's not exactly a lie, Xand, I was injured before Spike walked in" she said, humorlessly, holding her robe shut.

"Right, well take as long as you need" he cupped her cheek and smiled at her.

Buffy dropped her ruined robe and slowly lowered herself into the bath.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy sat on the couch with Alex tucked against her chest, a blanket covering him as he fed. Dawn was holding Dani, gently patting her back as she slept against her chest. Xander was standing near by, an ice pack on his face.

"We cracked the discs but still can't decipher this" willow said holding out the paper with the demonic writing on it.

"It's Klingon, they're love poems" Xander said, catching himself and blushing, "which has nothing to do with the insidious scheme you're about to describe"

Buffy smirked at him in amusement,

"What do ya got for me that doesn't rhyme?" She asked as Alex sighed and started suckling again, lifting the blanket to check on him, she smiled softly at him as he gripped her breast with his little hand.

"Um, this" Tara said holding up a disc.

"It's filled with encoded blueprints and schematics" Willow said showing Buffy the pile of papers.

"To what?"

"Um, banks, armored car routes, corporate vaults…. This is big" Tara said eyes wide.

"They're looking to score some serious dinero. We don't think they're planning just one job" Willow said tapping the keys on her laptop.

"Spree anyone" Xander said then flinched and turned around when Buffy stuck her hand under the blanket.

"Dawn could you take Dani upstairs for me and lay her down?" Buffy asked as she flipped the blanket off and lifted Alex to her shoulder.

"Sure, I'm gonna crash anyway" She said sliding forward on the chair so she could stand up with Dani.

"I, I can't cover all of these at once" Buffy said as she winded her son.

"You won't have to. We think there's one they may hit tonight" Willow said taping away at her laptop and nodding.

"It's time sensitive" Tara added.

"Be careful. Warrens gone all Might Mouse. Emphasis on the might." Xander said looking worried.

"Good" Buffy said standing up with Alex, "Then I won't have to hold back" She smiled grimly and took Alex upstairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy entered the Wild River Adventure park as Warren tipped the truck over, _wonder where he got the super strength? s_ he thought as she jumped on top of the truck watching as Warren ripped the off the door.

"Hey"

Warren looked up at her.

"Is this your bank? 'Cause if not, there's gonna be a fee for that" She leaped down but Warren caught her and threw her backwards over his head.

She landed with a thud several yards away and got up as Warren began striding towards her.

"I was wondering when super bitch would show up."

"You really got a problem with strong women, don't you?"

"Nothing I can't handle" he swung at her head but Buffy ducked.

He punched her in the face with his second swing, blocked her punch and held her arm hitting her with his other hand. They exchange blows and Buffy goes down.

"You seem a little off. This a bad day?" he asked smugly.

Buffy stands, "It's getting better"

She landed several strong kicks, grabbed him, flipped over him and kicked him in the back. He went down but immediately rolled back to his feet. Buffy grabbed the door from the truck and hit him with it knocking him back into the stone gate of the park, dust falling on his head.

"That all you got?" he said throwing his arms out in challenge.

He looked up a moment too late as the stone gate collapsed, a pile of stone and rubble, falling right on top of him.

"No!" A shout sounded behind her so she turned and saw Andrew and Jonathan staring at the place Warren was buried.

"There's two ways this can end. And right now? I'm thinking they're both gonna hurt" She said as she began walking towards them.

Andrew suddenly smiled, flicking his eyes behind her, "I think you're right"

Buffy turned and saw Warren pulling himself out from beneath the rubble.

"What's the matter baby? You never fight a real man before?"

He charged at her landing two strong punches before she ducked the third and kicked him. He blocked her swing punching her again several times before Buffy grabbed his hand and twisted it back, kicking him in the stomach. She ducked another punch and kicked him hard, knocking him back against the overturned truck.

Buffy watched as he pulled himself upright again,

"Wow. That almost hurt kitten" he said.

 _For fucks sake_ , she thought as she launched herself at him again. Kicking and punching to little effect. Warren grabbed her and slams down on her arm.

Buffy shouted out in pain as Warren kicked her backwards then grabbed her again.

She heard Andrew urging Warren to kill her as he continued beating her. He knocked her legs out from under her and she hit the floor.

"You know who I am? Huh, Slayer?" he asked her.

"You're a murderer" she growled at him getting up.

"Well, that too, but more to the point.." he back handed her, "I'm the guy that beat you"

She swings at him and he blocked her again, hitting her. Buffy reeled backwards shocked that he was winning.

"And it's not the muscles, baby" he said as he kicked her backwards, "It's the brains"

"I'll remember that when I knock 'em clean out of your…." she felt someone jump on her back and grab her around the neck. She grunted and stumbled around trying to pry him off.

"Whoa! Sparky, I didn't know you had it in you" Warren said sounding amused.

"The orbs! Smash his orbs" she heard Jonathan whisper in her ear.

She threw him off and he rolled away when he hit the ground. Warren was on her before she could recover, she blocked a couple of punches but then Warren hit her hard enough to send her flying back into a bench. It broke apart under her and Warren strode towards her,

"Say good night, bitch" he said and pulled his fist back.

Buffy saw a pouch attached to his belt when his jacket pulled back. Before Warren could react she grabs it and smashes it on the floor under her hand. A blue light flashes, flushing through Warren then leaves him, shooting towards the smashed orbs.

He looked up dazed as Buffy stood,

"Good night bitch" she said then spun and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying backwards and rolling to the ground in front of the other two.

Looking scared he stumbled to his feet as she advanced on him,

"You're nothing but a sad little boy, Warren. But it's time you grow up, and pay for what you've done."

"Get away from me!" he yelled panting. He pulled off his jacket revealing something strapped to his body including two silver tanks strapped to his back.

"I swear to god, I'm gonna take you down. You piece of…."

Buffy stared, unable to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes, as Warren pressed a button and activated a jet back that lifted him straight up in the air, shouting in surprise.

"Oh, come _on_ " she whined.

"Well played, Slayer!" Andrew said staring calmly at Buffy and copies Warren, revealing his own jet pack.

"Why didn't I get one of those?" Jonathan whined.

"This round to you. But the game is far from over" Andrew said as he activated his jet pack.

Buffy and Jonathan stared as he rose but he hit the roof overhang above him and fell back to the ground unconscious.

Jonathan just stared at Buffy uneasily as the police sirens get closer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy had fed, bathed and dressed the twins and was now looking for cameras in her backyard, the sun shining down on her, poking at the weeds and plants with a stick, when Xander came up behind her.

"Time for the spring poking already?" he joked.

Turning, she smiled at him "Just making sure there are no more Evil Trio cameras. Or Evil Uno"

"Ah, the sinister yet addictive board game" he said with mock seriousness and she laughed.

"No, Warren. Jonathan and Andrew got clinked, but…..Warren pulled a Rocket Man"

"Huh?"

"He had a jet pack" Buffy clarified.

"Seriously? That's kinda cool…..bad, very bad" he said grinning at her.

"You'll find him, he won't be any good without his friends"

Buffy hugged him, glad he sounded better, "No he won't, I know I'm not"

They sat beside each other on the bench and Xander fidgeted, he never was good at heart-to-hearts, he always seemed to screw them up.

"How did we end up here?"

"Scenic route. Long drive" Buffy said with a smile.

"The past few weeks…."

"I know, it's been hard for you. I've been worried about you"

"I know, I'm sorry, I just…. I think I hit bottom ya know, walking away from Anya, on our wedding day! God, how big of a tool was I?"

"Honestly? Pretty big. You couldn't have figured it out before I had to put on that dress?" she said trying for levity, smiling when he chuckled.

"Seriously though Xand, even Anya understands you didn't set out to do it that way"

"I really didn't" he said earnestly.

"Hey at least you didn't push her away so far she left the country"

"Buff"

"I guess we've all done things lately that we're not proud of"

"I think I got ya beat" he said smiling at her.

"Wanna compare?" she said smiling back at him.

"Not so much" he looked down for a second and when he looked up his eyes were watery,

"I don't know what I'd do...without you and Will"

Fighting tears of her own she hugged him, "Let's not find out" He hugged her back, tightly.

"I love you, you know that" she said. She felt Xander stiffen,

"Buffy!" he pushed her back.

She turned around to see Warren angrily walking towards her through the back gate still wearing the all black outfit from the night before.

"You think you can just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?" he laughed like a crazy person, "Think again"

He raised his arm and Buffy saw the gun, she looked at Xander,

"The twins" she said, fear in her voice, she shoved Xander away just as Warren fired.

She heard him fire a few more shots but she couldn't get up. She felt a burning in her chest and she was having trouble breathing.

"Buffy! No!" she heard Xander shout then felt his hands pressing down on her chest before she blacked out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Xander panicked, Buffy was bleeding and he didn't know if anyone else was home. He couldn't lose her, not again. He got up and ran into the house to grab the phone and frantically dialed 911, told them what they needed, grabbed a dish towel and ran back outside.

He applied pressure as he waited for the ambulance and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the siren. He ran around the house to meet them,

"She's back here, this way"

The paramedics followed him back asking what had happened.

"She was shot?" the first one asked.

"Yeah in the chest"

"Accidental?" The second one asked

"No no, it was a…. he was trying to kill her"

"Xander!" Dawn yelled as she ran up to the house, "What happened? Who's blood is that? Where's Buffy, the twins?"

"Dawn, listen to me" Xander said as he gripped her shoulders, the paramedics going on without him.

"It was Warren, he shot Buffy, she's…..well it's bad but she's gonna be okay" he watched as what he said sunk in then fought back tears as he saw her pain and fear in her eyes.

"Dawn, you need to listen to me. Are you listening?"

Sobbing she nodded and looked at him.

"Okay. I need you to stay with Dani and Alex okay. I don't know if Buffy...if she got bottles ready but there is formula in the cupboard just in case. I'm gonna go with Buffy and I will call you when I know something, okay? Okay?" he said, his voice breaking slightly.

Dawn nodded and sniffed, "Okay, I can do that" she said in a small child like voice.

He hugged her tightly and kissed her head, "That's my girl"

He turned when he heard the gurney and saw the paramedic backing through the gate,

"Go Dawn, you don't wanna see this"

Her eyes widened when she realized what was happening, she turned and ran into the house, not seeing Willow coming down the stairs.

Xander was following the gurney when he saw Willow staring blankly at Buffy, blood on her shirt.

"Willow, god, are you okay?"

"How did this happen?" She asked quietly.

"Warren, he had a gun"

"Warren" her previously blank face flashed with anger.

"It went down too fast, I couldn't stop him"

But Willow was no longer listening. She walked away leaving Xander behind,

"Hey" he called, "Will!" he stared after her not knowing what to do.

"Hey, you coming?" The paramedic asked.

Xander looked at Willows retreating back.

"We gotta go now so if you're coming, jump in" The paramedic said, the urgency of the situation conveyed in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm coming" Xander blinked and tore his eyes away from Willow and looked at the ambulance. Running towards it he jumped in, his eyes on Buffys very pale face as the paramedic slammed the door and the driver pulled away from the curb.

Sirens blaring he sped off in the direction of the hospital.


	3. Part 3

**Disclaimer:-** I own nothing but the imagination

 **Rating:- M**

 **A/N Episode Villains**

Chapter 10

"It has happened" the seer said to the circle, "The witch has lost control of the magics inside of her, the loss of a loved one causing grief too hard to bare"

"It is time to prepare you Mr. Giles" Jane said.

Giles hung his head, there was only one person that would cause that kind of grief in Willow and it was Tara.

He pushed back his own grief at the loss of such a gentle soul, took a deep breath and stepped forward into the center of the circle.

 _I'm coming home Buffy_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dawn had sat on the couch, silently crying, for twenty minutes after the ambulance carrying her sister had left.

Xander had said that it looked bad but that she would be okay, but he had her blood all over him, a lot of her blood all over him.

"Argh! No!" she slapped her hands to the side of her head, "Stop it!"

She had to stop thinking about it, except she couldn't, she was too afraid she would lose her sister again.

A whine from upstairs caught her attention so she ran up to Buffys room to check the twins. As she ran past Wills room, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye but she needed to check the twins,

 _Buffys children_ she thought and immediately had to fight back a fresh wave of tears.

She went straight to the cribs, expecting it to be Dani whining, instead she found Alex whimpering and twitching in his sleep. She gave him his pacifier and gently rubbed his belly, as she'd seen Buffy do, to calm him and he settled with a little shuddering sigh.

Smiling at him she stepped away quietly and walked back to Wills room to investigate.

She walked slowly up to the doorway, seeing the hole in the window she looked into the room and walked over to the bed. She saw Taras foot,

"Tara?" she walked a bit further and saw her lying in a pool of blood, her eyes open staring lifelessly at nothing.

"Oh god, no" Dawn whispered and she backed away until she hit the wall. She started to cry again as she slid to the floor, wanting to shut her eyes but unable to look away from the woman who had loved and cared for her like a sister.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the hospital, Xander stood in the hallway looking through a window at the doctor trying to save Buffys life. A nurse walked by with a tray and as the door opened he heard the steady beeping of the machines.

He couldn't hear a thing with the door closed, placing his hands on top of his head, he paced back and forth waiting anxiously.

Suddenly all the lights began to flicker and the machines blinked off and on again.

Appearing from nowhere, Xander saw Willow in the room with Buffy, but it didn't look like his Will. She had black hair and eyes with the clothes to match.

He rushed into the room as the doctor and nurses ran out.

"Willow? Will what are you doing? She's going to die" Xander said staring at her.

"No she isn't" Willow moved over to Buffy and stood beside her, staring down at her lying on the table.

Xander was looking between Willow and Buffy, the beeping of the machines getting faster. All of a sudden the bullet lifted up out of Buffys chest and floated in the air, hovering at eye level.

Willow looked at as the beeping stopped, "It's so small"

She put her hand out and plucked the bullet out of the air then brought her hand back toward her, the bullet gone when she opened her hand. Xander took a few steps closer staring in fascination at what had happened.

He looked down at Buffy as she slowly came to, blinking against the bright light that suddenly came back on.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Buffy!" Xander cried as she rushed forward and helped her sit up,

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

She looked confused, "Sure. How'd I get here?" then she remembered and gripped Xanders arm,

"The twins? Are they okay? Where are they?" she asked anxiously.

"It's okay Buff, they're fine. Dawn showed up at the same time as the paramedics so I told her to stay with them, it should keep her calm enough that she doesn't panic so much" Xander told her, hugging her in relief.

"You've gotta stop doing this. This dying thing is funny once, maybe twice"

Buffy looked over at Willow, frowning as she tried to recognize who she saw in front of her,

"Willow?"

"Buffy. Hey" Willow said giving her a very small smile.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she slid off the table.

"I'll explain. But we've gotta go" Willow said as she moved towards the door.

Xander and Buffy looked at each other then back at Willow, confused.

"Why?"

"It's time to find Warren" she said without turning back.

Willow walked to the door and pushed it open, leaving a very confused Buffy and Xander sharing a look of concern.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later they're in Xanders car driving through the desert. Willow sat in the back staring straight ahead, not talking to them. Her eyes had gone back to normal but her hair was still black.

"Faster" Willow commanded sitting forward.

"I'm going as fast as I…."

"Faster!" she lifted her hand and the gas pedal slammed down under Xanders foot.

"Will, would you cut that out? If you wanted to drive..." he said looking back at her.

Buffy looked worried, she wanted to get back to her twins, to Dawn, not be out here in the middle of the desert hunting down the boy who shot her with a powerful, pissed off witch controlling a car.

"We need to stop. I don't like this" she said looking at Willow.

"We're close I can feel him"

"And we'll catch him, and he'll go to jail. I'm finding the whole getting shot, very motivating. But you're using magic"

"If I wasn't you'd be dead"

"Maybe. But this isn't right. Okay, this isn't how I want it"

"Sometimes you don't get a choice"

"I think Buffy gets the tie breaker on this one Will. She was the one on the ouchy end of a bullet" Xander said his pain at what he almost lost again clearly visible on his face.

"Will, you do have a choice. This isn't good for you" Buffy said turning in her seat to look at Willow.

"You made the decision to stop for a reason. You promised us. And can I just ask, what's with the make over of the damned? I mean, the hair…."

Willow was ignoring them concentrating instead on the feel of Warrens essence, looking around. Suddenly she sat up,

"Turn right! Go!"

"Go….where?" Xander asked, seeing no turning.

"Over there! Now!"

Xander looked around in confusion, "Will..."

"Turn" She command and the wheel turned itself under Xanders hands.

The car screeched off the road, bouncing over the desert floor, weaving between bushes.

Xander held his hands up, "Fine! Puppet master wants to drive? Go right ahead"

The car bounced along for another few minutes before it crashed over a ditch and stopped at the edge of the highway, Willow jumped out of the car and strode purposefully across the highway. Buffy and Xander followed, slowly.

"Willow, wait!" Buffy called

"Stay back!" Willow said, waving her arm back she shot a purple-black energy at them, immobilizing them.

She kept walking until she saw a bus coming towards her, she stopped in the middle of the road and glared at the bus. The bus braked and swerved a little but it came to a stop a few feet from Willow.

She walked around the side of the bus and the doors opened on their own.

"Get out" She ordered.

A minute later Warren stepped off the bus and Willow grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground.

Buffy and Xander watched helplessly as she squeezed his neck, the sound of cracking audible to them. They watched Warrens eye pop out of his head and Willow drop his body to the floor.

The immobility vanished and they ran over, looking down in relief at was obviously not a human.

"It's a robot" Willow said surprised.

She frowned in confusion, "I...I could feel his essence"

Willows face flashed in anger, "He tricked me. We'll find another way" She began to walk off.

Buffy started to follow her, "And then what?"

"And then we kill him" Willow stated matter-of-factly.

 _That's it, no more playing chase the crazy witch_ Buffy thought and she grabbed Willows arm forcing her to turn and face them.

"Okay, you need to calm down"

"Calm down?"

"Look, you're angry. I...I am too. There's no excuse for what Warren did, but that..."

"He shot Tara" Willow said dispassionately.

Xander stepped forward as he and Buffy stared at her, lost for words.

"When he shot you, he hit her too. Upstairs in my room"

"Oh my god" Buffy put her hand over her mouth.

"Guess the last shot was the charm"

"She's dead?" Xander asked quietly.

"She's dead. Now he's dead too"

Buffys eyes were swimming with unshed tears,

"Oh my god….Tara" she whispered her name. She blinked and the tears fell. She had grown close to Tara over the last few months as she helped her figure out the magic side of her pregnancy, she had delivered her children, sat with her during her hallucinations.

She forced back a sob and, taking a deep breath, regained control over her tears.

"Christ, Will, how come you didn't say anything?" Xander asked shocked, he had liked Tara, she had added a balance to the scoobies, managing to bring a calm with her no matter how crazy it got.

"I'm busy" Willow said and moved towards the car again. Buffy reached out and pulled her back.

"W...Willow, please, just stop."

Willow stared at her coldly.

"We love you. And Tara. But we don't kill humans. It's not the way" Buffy said firmly.

"How can you say that? Tara is dead"

"I know…..I know. And I…..can't understand….anything. Not what happened a...and not what you must be going through. Will if you do this, you let Warren destroy you too"

"You said it yourself, Will….the magic's too strong, there's no coming back from it" Xander said stepping closer.

Willow looked at each of them, "I'm not coming back"

Again she started to walk away and Buffy grabbed her again, stopping her.

"Will, please. Please, we'll get through this together" Buffy begged her, she didn't want to lose her friend.

"We won't! Not your way"

"Please, just..."

"No! No more talking. It's done" she turned away again, this time waving her hand behind her.

Another bolt of purple magic flew backwards knocking Buffy and Xander over. By the time they had sat up Willow had vanished.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time they got back to the house the sun was setting. Buffy ran into the house with Xander,

"You check the twins, I'll…..I'll go t...to Tara" Buffy said, Xander nodded grateful to be spared that duty.

He continued on to Buffys room as she turned into Willows, walking around the bed she saw Tara.

"I couldn't leave her alone"

Buffy turned and saw Dawn sitting curled up against the wall. With a last look at Tara she crouched next to her sister,

"Dawn. Sweetie. Come on, we need to get out of here okay?" she stroked Dawns hair as she knelt down next to her,

"Dawn? Be strong for me okay? Be brave for me" Buffy knew saying the same words she had said to her on the tower would snap her out of it and they did.

Xander walked in and looked at Tara sadly, "Their still sleeping Buff" he said quietly.

Dawn looked at her tears welling in her eyes, "The twins were fussy, but they didn't wake up. Do you think they know? Is their magic like that?" She asked looking at her sister.

"I don't know, maybe. We need to go downstairs sweetie"

"I don't understand" Dawn whispered as he tears spilled from her eyes.

Buffy wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her close, hugging her tightly,

"Oh, honey, I don't understand either" she said thickly. "Come on, we'll get the twins and go downstairs, okay?"

"Okay" Dawn said weakly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy watched as two men carried Taras body down the stairs on a gurney. Xander, who had changed his clothes and washed the blood off of his hands, stood waiting at the door.

Buffy put an arm around Dawn and pulls her into her side as they carry her to the front door.

She hears the coroner ask Xander to sign the form and tell him to call a number tomorrow. It was all too familiar and her mind flashed back to that day over a year ago when her mom had left the house the same way.

She heard the door shut and looked up as Xander walked into the room holding a folded sheet of paper.

"So that's it" he said sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

"Are the police gone too?"

"Coming back tomorrow with more of their pretty yellow tape."

They both sighed shakily as they fought back the tears that were always just under the surface.

"We need to find Willow"

Xander nodded, "Yeah, she's off the wagon big time. Warrens a dead man if she finds him"

"Good" Dawn said bitterly

"Dawn, don't say that"

"Why not? I'd do it myself if I could"

"Because you don't really feel that way" Buffy said gently looking at her with sympathy, she had been through too much, at sixteen she shouldn't have felt this much pain.

"Yes I do" She said looking up at Buffy, "and you should too. He killed Tara, and he almost killed you. What would have happened to the twins if you had died?"

"Dawn, don't" Xander said seeing Buffys guilt and pain blossom on her face.

Buffy stood up and walked over to the travel cot, hugging herself she stared down at the twins,

 _I'm sorry, I nearly left you and I couldn't have stopped it_ she thought, still hoping Giles would reply but not expecting him to.

Watching her Dawn said, "He needs to pay"

"Out of the mouths of babes"

"Xander" Buffy said, wiping a tear away she looked at him.

"I'm just saying he's….he's as bad as any vampire you've sent to dustville"

"Being a Slayer doesn't give me a license to kill. Warrens human"

"So?" Dawn scoffed

"So the human world has its own rules for dealing with this" she said sitting back down next to Dawn.

"And we know how well those work" Xander said shifting his feet.

"Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. We can't control everything. If we were supposed to...then magic wouldn't change Willow the way it does. And...and we'd be able to bring Tara back" Buffys voice wavered

"And mom" Dawn said quietly

"There are limits, and there should be. Willow doesn't want to believe that and now she's messing with forces that want to hurt her, hurt us."

"I just…..I've had blood on my hands all day" Xander looked Buffy in the eye, "Blood of the people I love"

"I know, it has to stop. Warrens going to get what he deserves, I promise, but I will not let Willow destroy herself"

Xander nodded, "Okay, where do we go? She could be anywhere"

"First guess, I'd say magic box, some sort of locating spell" she looked at Xander, "Can you go? I'll get the twins packed and take them and Dawn to Melinda next door at least she'll have a chance at protecting them"

"I want to come with you" Dawn said lifting her eyes to her sisters.

"No, it's too dangerous"

"But it's Willow...she needs us"

"She does, and you'll help her, lots but first we have to get her home in one piece"

"But…."

"Dawn, I'm serious, you've been through enough. You should be somewhere safe"

"Fine then I want to go to Spikes" she said folding her arms.

"No"

"Why not?!"

"Because he's gone, probably won't be back"

"Why?"

"It's complicated, please just go pack a bag while I pack the twins up and phone Melinda"

Dawn huffed and stomped up the stairs, Buffy watching her go.

"You gonna tell her?" Xander asked taking her hand.

"Not tonight. I'm so tired Xand" she said closing her eyes.

"I know, no rest for the wicked"

"I could go to the magic box if…."

"No, it's cool, I'll go, you've got to sort everything out here"

"Thanks Xand"

"No problem" he got up and picked his keys up from the table by the door, with a last look at her he left.

Buffy stood up and retrieved the phone from the kitchen, dialing Melinda she waited as it rang.

"Hi, Melinda…...yeah, I need your help with the twins and Dawn….would you mind? To be honest it would be easier if you came here….okay yeah, I'll wait for you on the porch…..see you soon then, bye"

She walked to the bottom of the stairs and called up, "Dawn, Melinda's coming here instead, try and sleep okay"

"Okay" she called down.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy rushed into the magic box half an hour later.

"Is everyone ok? Did Willow..."

"Got her power boost and took off" Anya said looking at her

"Anya's…..Anya was saying she knows where Willow is" Xander said

"A spell?"

"Not exactly. Seems Anya got her vengeance on again" Xander said bitterly.

Buffy stared at her, "Oh"

"So, Willows all wrathy….why don't you go to her? Isn't that your gig?" Xander asked her.

"Normally, I'd have to...but she doesn't want me" She said defensively.

"She wants to do it herself" Buffy said looking at Xander who paled.

"Yeah"

"Look, Anya, we don't have much time. Which side of this are you on?" Buffy asked, getting straight to the point.

Anya hesitated, looking between Buffy and Xander.

"If you know where she is, you can help us" Xander pointed out.

Anya stood up and sighed, "I'll help. But I'm helping Willow"

Both Buffy and Xander nod in acceptance.

"She's close to him. He's in the woods"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy and Xander were following Anya through the woods,

"What's happening? What do you feel?" Buffy asked Anya.

"She's stronger now. Close"

"What about Warren? Has she…."

"He's still alive. She's not done"

They walked for another ten minutes when Anya stopped and pointed a little to the left,

"Over there"

They come upon Willow standing in front of Warren, Buffy who had rushed the last few hundred yards, called her name.

Willow looked over.

She turned back to Warren who was still talking,

"Oh, and when you're caught, you'll lose them too. Your friends. You don't want that. I know you're in pain, but..."

"Bored now" Willow waved her hand at Warren.

A bolt of magic rips through Warren and tears the skin off his body in a single piece.

"Oh my god" Xander covered his mouth with his hand as he felt the bile rise in his throat.

Warrens body sagged against the vines still holding his lifeless body. Willow just stood there looking at it.

"What did you do?" Buffy asked shocked.

Willow just kept staring at the body as if committing it to memory.

"Willow, what did you do?" Buffy asked again.

Willow looked over at them then back at the body. Suddenly it burst into flames and burned to nothing in an instant.

"One down" Willow said calmly as smoke began to curl up around Willows body. Red fire flashed in her eyes, the lightening flashed as her whole body disappears into smoke.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I think I'm gonna be sick" Xander says and stops running, putting his hands on his knees.

"Again!" Anya said annoyed.

"I know it's just… what happened back there, the sounds, the smell"

"I know" Buffy said quietly.

"Willow did that"

"That's why we have to keep going, you heard what she said, 'one down'"

"So we're talking about 'two to go' right? Jonathan and that other one" Anya said pushing herself off of a tree.

"Andrew. They're in county with no clue whats coming"

"You think she's gonna kill them too? She wouldn't, it doesn't make sense" Xander said as he straightened.

"She's got an addictive personality and she's just tasted blood, she could be there already"

"No. She couldn't, a witch at her level.. She can only go airborne." Anya said moving in front of them, "It's a thing. More flashy, impresses the locals, but it takes longer"

"Longer than what?" Xander asked.

"Teleporting" Anya said then disappeared

"Right, vengeance demon" Xander said sarcastically, "well at least she'll get there first"

"I'm counting the ways that could go wrong".

They started walking again in grim silence. Xander couldn't get his mind off of what they had just witnessed, his stomach still rolling.

"Well Anya can handle herself"

"Against Willow? Tonight? Don't be so sure" Buffy said looking at Xander her worry evident on her face.

"Well...she should be coming down at some point, shouldn't she?" Xander asked panting as he kept pace with Buffy, "I mean, she was out of her head back there, running on grief and magic"

"Doesn't matter" Buffy said shaking her head, "Willow just killed someone and killing changes you, believe me I know"

"Warren was a cold blooded murderer who was just warming up. You ask me that bastard had it coming"

"Maybe" Buffy looked at him frowning, "But Andrew and Jonathan don't, they didn't pull the trigger"

They picked up the pace and jogged on in silence for a few minutes.

"This is still Willow right?"

"I hope so, whatever she's going through, we have to stop or she definitely won't be Willow anymore. Maybe we could actually do that if we could find your….." Buffy broke off as they came to a clearing and saw what was left of Xanders car.

"….car"

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Xander yelled angrily. "Willow!"

The car was trashed, smoke curling out from underneath the hood, a huge hole in the windshield.

"I guess she wants to finish the job without an audience" she said grimly looking at Xander, "Meet me at the jail"

"Sure, how're you gonna..."

Buffy started running, leaving him behind calling out to her. _Sorry Xand but it's quicker this way, you need time to deal and I don't want you to watch me fight our best friend_ she thought sadly

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episode Two To Go**

Chapter 11

Buffy arrived at the county jail as Willow was pulling bricks from the building and throwing cops around. She found a door inside and pulled it open, running up the stairs, already winded from her run from the woods.

She gets to the top and pulls another door open into the holding area, seeing Anya, Andrew and Jonathan all staring at the ever growing hole in the wall.

"Anya!"

"Buffy! We need to get them out of here"

"Really? I never would have thought of that on my own"

"No need for sarcasm Buffy" Anya said caustically, rolling her eyes.

Buffy walked to the cell and began prying the bars apart. Once the gap is wide enough she pulls them out and pushes them to the door,

"Anya? Come on we've gotta go!"

"Go, I'll stay here try and slow her down"

Buffy looked at Anya with fear and sadness in her eyes, Anya was actually touched,

"I'm a vengeance demon again remember? We're very hard to kill" she said giving the Slayer a small smile, "Now go! Get them out of here!"

With one last look at Anya, Buffy shoved the boys through the door and hurried them down the stairs.

They got to the street just as Willow started screaming.

"Aah! What is that? God, it kills" Andrew whined, his hands over his ears.

Buffy carefully peeked around the corner and saw the cops still standing there, some still staring up with their guns still trained on Willow the others standing around with their hands over their ears.

"We have to make a run for it" Buffy said looking back at them.

"Are you kidding? She's like Dark Phoenix up there! We can't outrun her!" Andrew said

"Pretty much, yeah, or you know, you could stand here and die like Warren did, it wasn't pretty"

Both boys gulped and stayed silent.

A police car drove up next to them and Buffy saw Xander behind the wheel, he leaned over and pushed the passenger side door open,

"Get in"

Buffy opened the back and all but threw the boys in before slamming the door,

"Drive!" she told Xander and he put his foot down before she was all the way in.

They sped away as a couple of cops realized what they were doing and tried to stop them. They could still hear Willow screaming behind them.

Buffy stared out of the back window, waiting to see if Willow would follow, when it became obvious she wasn't she turned back to the front and slipped out her cell phone.

" _Hello"_

"Hey Melinda. How're the twins? Is Dawn still sulking?"

" _The twins are fine, fussy but fine. I think they can feel the magic, I know I can. And Dawns still in her room"_

"Yeah it's Willow she's….she's.."

" _I know. I fixed that room up. Didn't take long and I cleared the negative energies as well."_

"You didn't need to do that, but thank you, I don't know if I could have…."

" _I know, I'm sorry about Tara. She was such a sweet girl. I put the twins back in your room once I had finished, they sleep better in there"_

"Okay. Ring me if there are any problems"

" _There won't be. Stay safe"_

Buffy hung up and looked over at Xander.

"Everything okay?" He asked his gaze flicking between her and the road.

"Yeah, no problems" she turned and looked at Andrew and Jonathan in the back, "Are you injured?"

"I...I don't think so" Jonathan said shakily.

"Where are you taking us?" Andrew asked.

"We'll find someplace safe and we'll keep you there until we can stop Will" She said turning back again and staring out of the windshield.

"Run and hide, that's your big plan?" Andrew said scornfully.

"I don't believe this" Jonathan said quietly.

"Boys, if you don't shut up I will pull this car over and you can just walk to your painful deaths from here" Xander said angrily.

Jonathan shook his head in confusion, "I don't get it, Willows a witch so why doesn't she just wave her arms and make us dead?"

"Because she doesn't want you dead, she wants to kill you and she wants it to hurt"

"But we didn't do anything" Andrew said.

Buffy turned round and punched him, "Of course you didn't. You just played with my life like it was one of your toys, tried to kill me more than once and put my babies in danger all because you were bored and wanted to play in the big boys pool. No, you didn't do a fucking thing"

"Hate to admit it Buff but Jonathan has a point. Why isn't she right here right now?" Xander said

"Maybe she's just getting fired up, or maybe she doesn't know how much power she has yet. We don't even know how much power she has yet?

"Guess we keep running then"

Jonathan leaned forward, "I still can't believe that was Willow, I mean I've known her almost as long as you guys have, she was...you know….Willow. She packed her own lunches and wore floods, she was always….just Willow"

Suddenly the car jolted forward sending Jonathan and Andrew into the backs of Buffy and Xanders seats. Buffy braced herself on the dash board as Xander looked in the rear view mirror.

"Geez, Xand" Jonathan said

"What was that?" Andrew squeaked

"Oh, you know, just Willow"

Buffy looked in her side mirror and saw Willow standing on top of a truck her hands out stretched. The truck sped up and slammed into the back of them.

"O..okay, any ideas" Xander said sounding scared.

Buffy just looked at him her face blank, "Drive faster"

Xander puts his foot down and they moved away from the truck but that sped up too, ramming them harder. The bumper detached on one side and scraped along behind them, sending sparks flying as the metal came in contact with the road.

The truck hits them again and now everyone in the car is scared.

"This is faster!" Xander said his fear in his voice.

"She knows you're in this car too, right?" Jonathan asked nervously.

Buffy and Xander exchanged a look that clearly said that they didn't think Willow cared and looked back at the truck.

"Right?!" Jonathan said anxiously.

They all looked back at the truck as it began to slow down.

"She's draining" Jonathan said surprise and relief mixed in his voice.

"She's what-ing?"

"Just keep going"

Xander kept driving, his foot to the floor, the bumper dragging behind them. Buffy watches as the truck slows even further, Willow dropping to all fours on the roof as the truck lurches from side to side before finally stopping with a squeal of brakes.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anya met them at the magic box and let them in, striding forward impatiently.

"Thanks Anya, for getting here so fast. It's a big help" Xander said.

"Once again Xander needs help" Anya said sarcastically.

Xander just sighed, "Whatever. So can you still sense her? Knowing where she is will be a big comfort right now"

They walked over to Buffy who was standing next to the big table still covered in books.

"No, I can't" Anya said sighing, "Which means whatever she's feeling has gone way beyond simple vengeance"

"Did you not hear me mention the need for comfort" Xander said looking at her in alarm.

"Whatever we've got we'd better grab it, this is probably the first place she'll look for us" Buffy said looking over the books, finding each one completely blank.

"Then what are we doing here?" Andrew said alarmed, "You know I could summon a demon that could kill her"

They all looked at him angrily, Xander stepped forward,

"And I could smack you so hard your eyeballs would switch sockets. Now sit your ass down and keep your mouth shut"

Anya walked off towards the counter as Jonathan and Andrew sat down, eyes on Xander.

"We need to find some sort of magic that can stop Willow, or, maybe just slow her her down" Buffy said looking around the shop.

"She's drained the place. She took everything that could be of use" Xander said picking up a book.

Anya bent down behind the cash register and lifted a box onto the counter,

"Not everything" she said as she unlocked the box and pulled a book from inside it.

"What is it?" Buffy asked walking over to her Xander right behind her.

"Um, a book of protection spells, sort of anti magic, our last resort"

"Think you can work this stuff?" Xander asked walking around the counter to look at the book.

"Well, the good news is the text is intact, the bad news, it's in like ancient Sumerian, or something"

Jonathan, who had been watching them, stood up and walked a little closer,

"Could I take a look at it?"

Buffy glared at him, "Shut up"

"Right" he said and he started to turn back but stopped, "I just thought that seeing as you're, you know, protecting us, the least I could is help"

"I'm not protecting you Jonathan, none of us are, we're doing this for Willow" Buffy said as she walked towards him, "The only reason it's your lucky day is that if Willow kills you, she crosses a line, I lose a friend"

She got right up in his face, "And I hate to lose"

Jonathan stood his ground, "I get that, it's just...you know she's running out of power right? I can practically feel it, I've dabbled"

"I think Will is in a league of her own dabble boy" Xander said

"But still, running that hot for that long, you gotta re-charge no matter how powerful you are" Jonathan said looking at both of them.

"Thank you, now you remember what I said before?" Buffy said narrowing her eyes at him.

"About me shutting up?"

Buffy nodded and watched him walk back to the table, Xander comes up beside and grabs her arm, pulling her to the side he said quietly,

"Buffy, let's say this works and we, somehow, stop Will from working the hoodoo, even for a minute, what then?"

"I talk to her"

"Great! And then what?"

Buffy took off her hat and brushed her fingers through her hair,

"Look….whatever she's planning she's starting with those two. They're the line we can't let her cross and if she is running low on magic, then she's probably somewhere recharging right now"

"Buff?" Xander said looking at her, his eyebrows raised.

"Don't….don't tell me I might have to fight her" she said shaking her head.

"But you know you might have to" he said gently as her eyes filled with tears.

"I can't" She said looking him in the eye, "I'll defend myself and you and Anya and god even the witless wonders, but I can't think of her as an enemy I have to fight…..I can't think of her as someone I have to kill to save the world"

Xander pulled Buffy into his arms and held her as she cried, his own eyes swimming with tears.

"Okay, I won't. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that" he said rubbing her back, "although, it's not like I never had a fantasy of you and Will mud wrestling, maybe we could give that a go while I sit back and watch, with popcorn"

He felt Buffys laugh and grinned, she pulled back and playfully shoved him back,

"Perv" she said smiling, her eyes still wet with tears.

He laughed and walked back over to Anya as Buffy pushed open the door to the training room.

She walked over to the couch and sat down, engulfed in the memories the room contained, all she could see was the ghost of Giles, instructing her, guiding her, patching her up, loving her.

She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall,

 _Giles? Ru? I need you. Even if I just get to hear your voice. I don't know what to do. I can't fight Willow. Please, answer me._

She waited, concentrating on the bond harder than ever, feeling nothing, hearing nothing. She sighed and slumped against the back of the couch,

"Where are you?" she whispered as tears leaked down the side of her face.

She felt her cellphone vibrating so she lifted herself up and pulled it from her back pocket,

"Melinda? What's wrong?"

" _It's Willow. She's here, at the house."_

"What?!" Buffy leaped from the sofa and ran back into the shop,

"Xander, it's Willow, she's at the house." she turned her attention back to the phone,

"Wait….what? She did what?"

" _Dawn ran out of the house. I have a protection spell up and Willow can't get in but she threatened to destroy the house around us unless Dawn came out, the spell only keeps her out"_

"What's she doing now?" Buffy asked as Xander stood close enough that he could hear her as well,

" _She's just talking to her…..oh no she's trans-locating...I've got to go, maybe I could trace her magic signature..."_

Before she could finish speaking Willow materialized in front of them,

"Melinda, she's here, so's Dawn….yes, ok…..I'll ring you when it's over"

She hung up and rushed to Dawn who had collapsed against the counter. She heard Xander whisper to Anya,

"I wish you could read this book"

She looked up and saw Anya smile before running towards the front of the shop and hiding behind the shelf at the end of the counter.

Willow looked horrible, veins all over her face, her eyes black.

"Sorry, the trip can be a bit rough if you're, you know, not me" Willow said smiling, she turned towards Jonathan and Andrew,

"You boys like magic don't you?" she asked smiling.

The magic started to swirl around her, "Abracadabra" she lifted her arms towards them and streams of purple-black magic flow towards them, her hair lifting in the resulting breeze as lightening flashed in the magic cloud.

It stops when it hits and invisible wall.

"Okay, didn't see that coming" Willow said surprised.

"W...what was that?" Andrew said, looking at Jonathan.

"We're alive" He said sounding surprised.

"Okay, you boys wanna take it slow, I can do that too" Willow said then tried again.

"Don't!" Buffy cried out getting up.

Willow continued to throw magic at the geeks but it never touched them.

Jonathan looked at Andrew, "Let's get out of here"

Andrew nods and they move around the table but Willow blocks their path, they grab swords and move towards the training room,

"No, stay" Willow says and the door closes on it's own in front of them. Slowly they turn around, the swords held up in front of them,

"I mean, we're just getting started and I've got big party plans"

"Will..." Buffy says softly as she moves towards her.

Xander grabs her arm and holds her back, "No, don't..."

She looks at him and understands what he's saying, she put her hand on his and nodded sadly.

"Guy's come on. I'm just getting wood for the violence, and you know what they say.." she said glancing back at them,

"If at first you don't succeed.." She lifted her hands and started blasting magic again only to have it fail to touch them.

"Damn that is one effect counter spell, won't keep you alive though"

"Will, stop, please. You need to give this up now" Buffy said, Xander still holding her arm.

Willow just ignored her, "I get it, you boys put a spell on yourselves, didn't you. Protecting you from harm...from magic. that's cute" She said to the boys.

"Will, back off before somebody gets hurt" Buffy said, Xander tightened his grip knowing she could brake it easily but not wanting to see the two women he thought of as sisters fight as much as Buffy didn't want to do it.

"How 'bout I back off right after" Willow said still staring at the boys, "So which one of you boys worked the mojo? It doesn't matter I'm just curious, 'cause if I can't use the magic on you it doesn't mean I can't do it to myself"

Magic crackles around Willow as she cupped her hands in front of her and mumbled something in Latin, the magic intensified and then faded as she lifted her head and smiled.

"Pretty sure I'm strong enough to beat you to death now"

The boys retreated back behind the table but Willow just grabbed an edge and threw it across the room. She started to advance on them but Buffy, with a look of regret at Xander rushed forward and blocked her path,

"I don't want to hurt you Will"

Willow punched Buffy and she flew all the way to the back of the shop and crashed into the magazine rack. The geeks look even more terrified and Xander, alarmed, moved in front of Dawn.

"Not a problem" Willow said smugly and moved towards the boys again.

Buffy gets up, looking pissed off, and strode over to get in front of Willow again,

"I said I didn't _want_ to, not that I wouldn't" she said then she backhanded her into a glass display case, watching as she landed in a heap on the floor.

Xander rushed forward to the nerds and Dawn rushed at Buffy,

"I'm sorry I didn't want her to hurt the twins" she said in a rush.

"I know, it's ok, now go with Xander" Buffy said giving her a quick hug.

"I want to stay" Dawn said fear shining in her eyes.

"I need you safe Dawnie, go, now" she said giving her a little push, "I love you"

"No! Don't say that, it sounds like goodbye" Dawn said her eyes growing larger.

"Fine, go away brat, stop bugging me"

Dawn smiled at her and ran after Xander, who had grabbed the boys and rushed them out of the shop.

Willow looked up and saw her prey leaving, "No!"

She got up but Buffy had already reached her, she grabbed the back of her jacket and threw her back away from the door and watched as she slid across the floor and hit the stairs up to the loft.

She tensed as willow stood up and glared at her.

Willow smiled at her, "So, here we are"

"Are we really gonna do this?" Buffy asked her voice shaking.

"Come on, this is a big fucking deal for me. Six years as a sidekick and now I get to be the Slayer"

"Being a killer doesn't make you a Slayer. Being a Slayer means something you will never understand"

Willow sighed and shook her head laughing, "Oh Buffy, you really need to have every square inch of your ass kicked"

Buffy felt a flicker in the bond as she worked to hide her sadness at what was about to happen but she ignored it, focusing everything in her on Willow,

"Then show me what you got and I'll show you what being a Slayer really means"

They moved towards each other and began to fight. Struggling with each other at first, Willow tried to headbutt her but Buffy dodged it, she kicked her in the stomach then punched her, Buffy ducked another swing and hits Willow in the side then punched her in the face. Willow spun and kicked Buffy in the face, then the chest.

Buffy tried to kick Willow but she flipped over her head and landed behind her. Buffy turned and kicked her, tried to follow it with a punch but Willow grabbed her arm and hit her with her other hand. Buffy staggered back and Willow threw her across the room into a bookcase.

Willow holds up her hand and the stairs to the loft shoot across the room and trap her against the shelves. She clung to the ladder, trying to push it away, and saw Willow turn to walk out of the shop. She used a burst of Slayer strength and shoved the ladder away, climbing out from behind it she rushed Willow from behind knocking her to the floor, she sat on top of her and punched her in the head.

"Get off super bitch"

Willow threw Buffy off into the counter, smashing the glass. They grapple again and exchange several punches, Willow pulled Buffy backwards and kicked her several times in the head and chest. Buffy spun around and kicked her backwards, jumping forward, she used her momentum to deliver a punch. Willow swung at her but Buffy grabbed her arm,

"I can help you stop" she said panting, eyes pleading with Willow to end this.

Willow broke the hold and punched Buffy several times,

"Is it me, or is your heart not in this" Willow said as she punched Buffy again.

"Of course it's not in this, you're like a sister to me you fucking idiot! Why would I want to fight you?"

"Ah, that's sweet, but I thought you were gonna show me what a slayer was" She punched Buffy again but she blocked it.

Buffy shoved Willow across the room through a display cabinet and into the small merchandise table at the front of the store.

Willow sat up and noticed Anya, "Well, hey, isn't that interesting, Anya's still here" she said out of breath.

Willow got up, shoving Buffy across the room into another table, hitting her head on the shelves.

Willow advanced on Anya who was still chanting, holding the book in front of her and staring at Willow in fear.

"Looks like I've been beating on the wrong gal" Willow said and grabbed Anya by the throat and lifted her off the floor.

"Help me!" Anya cried looking over at Buffy but she was unconscious, lying amongst the wreckage of the store,

"Help me!" she cried louder, she looked at Willow, "You're hurting me"

"You can't block my spells if you can't chant and you can't chant if you're sleepin'" Willow threw her aside into the shelves, she hit the floor unconscious.

Willow looked over at Buffy as she staggered to her feet and down the stairs into the main area of the shop. Willow followed, circling her as they watched each other.

"Buffy...I gotta tell ya...I get it now. The Slayer thing isn't about the violence, it's about the power"

Magic began to crackle again, surrounding Willow. She lifts her hands and unleashes it on Buffy. It throws her back onto the desk, she slides across it head first into the wall and lands on the floor beside it with a thud, groaning she struggles to focus.

Willow walked forward with a smug look on her face as Buffy pressed her forehead to the floor and collapsed, exhausted she rolled her head to look at Willow.

 _Please, stop, I can't do this anymore._ She begged her silently as she closed her eyes and let the blackness take her.

"And there's no one in the world with the power to stop me now"

Suddenly Willow was hit in the side by a blast of green magic, spinning around she hits the floor, sliding back to the shelves near the training room.

She lifted her head and her eyes widened in surprise when she looked in the direction the magic had come from.

"I'd like to test that theory" Giles said, standing in the doorway.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **A/N Episode Grave**

Chapter 12

Anya stirred and sat up, looking at the door she blinked hard, and looked again,

"Giles?" She said and stood up. He didn't respond, staring intently at Willow as he moved closer to her.

Anya looked around and saw Buffy lying on the floor, she looked between Willow and Giles and ran across the shop to her. Dropping to the floor next to her she put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake.

Willow, still lying on the floor, wiped her nose. Looking at her hand she saw blood,

"Uh oh. Daddy's home. I'm in wicked trouble now" she sat up and wiped her nose again. Her eyes were back to normal but her face was still covered in dark veins.

"You have no idea" Giles said calmly, "you have to stop what you're doing"

"Uh sorry, can't do that" Willow said giving Giles a fake smile as he moved down the steps, "I'm not finished yet"

Willow started to get up, her legs shaking a little.

"Neither am I, stay down" Giles waved his hand to the floor and Willow collapsed again.

Anya who had sat at Buffys head, moving it into her lap, looked at Giles in shock,

"How did you do that?" she asked softly.

Giles ignored her, still completely focused on Willow.

Willow huffed a chuckle "That's borrowed power. No way is it strong enough..."

Anya looked down when she felt Buffy stir,

"Buffy wake up now, this is not a time for sleeping" Anya said giving her another gentle shake.

"I'm here to help you" Giles said in that same soft voice.

Buffy's eyes snapped open when she heard Giles' voice and looked up at Anya,

"Giles?" she asked her, afraid she was dreaming. Anya nodded and looked up at something across the room.

Buffy slowly followed her gaze and gasped when she saw him, her heart swelling with happiness, then she remembered why she was lying on the floor with her head in Anyas lap. She rolled to her side and groaning, she got to her feet, pulling Anya with her.

"Thanks, but I think I can kill a couple of nerds all by myself. But hey, if you'd like to watch….I mean, that's what you Watchers are good at, right? Watching? Well..." she looked at Buffy and laughed, looking back at Giles she continued,

"You're good at fucking your Slayer as well as butting in on things that don't concern you"

"You concern me Willow. Stay on this path and you'll end up dead" he said, his hands now crossed in front of him.

"Listen to him Will, I don't want to fight you anymore, I never wanted to fight you in the first place" Buffy said as she held onto Anya, her fear for Giles making her unsteady.

"I don't wanna fight you anymore either, I wanna fight him" Willow said and she rose up off the floor.

"Stay down" Giles said gesturing at her again.

Willow makes her own gesture, waving her arm across the front of her body and blocked his magic,

"No"

Giles looked a little alarmed. Buffy looking warily at Willow moved to stand next to Giles.

"Remember that little spat we had before you left? You called me a rank, arrogant amateur. Well buckle up Rupert…."

Giles, Buffy and Anya watched her uneasily as a magical light appeared from nowhere and Willows eyes turned black, Buffy and Anya looking around as a humming noise rose in pitch and volume.

"'Cause I've turned pro" Willow said her voice deeper.

The humming noise continued to get louder as Willow began a spell,

"Asmodea, bring forth..."

" _Vincire!_ " Giles said gesturing at Willow.

Green energy shot from Giles' hand and formed a band around Willow's body, pinning her arms to her sides. It began to glow with a green light that made Willows skin look green too.

"What? No! Get off! _Solvo, libero_..."

Giles continued to hold out his hand toward her and suddenly Willow threw back her head and closed her eyes, apparently unconscious. Her body floated up into the air and hovered about a foot off the ground. The band of magic holding her changed from green to a purpley- grey colour.

Anya and Buffy watched warily as Buffy moved closer to Giles,

"What did you do?" She asked staring up at Willow floating in midair.

"I contained her and her powers within a binding field, it puts her in a kind of…..stasis" he said and then he looked at her for the first time,

"You look tired my love" he said softly as he took in every detail of her

Buffy closed her eyes and nodded,

" _So tired. If I turn around and look at you will you still be there?"_

 _Yes my love, I'll still be here"_

Tears slipped from behind her eyelids as she heard his voice in her head, the bond pulsing with his power.

Before Buffy could turn, Anya rushed Giles and threw her arms around him. He grunted in surprise and looked at Buffy, she stared at him, her eyes hungrily devouring every detail of his face.

"Thank you for saving us" Anya muttered against his chest.

Giles smiled and awkwardly patted her back, "You're very welcome Anya dear"

"Uh, Anya? Could you get off my boyfriend now so I can say hi" Buffy said smirking at her.

"Well, it didn't look like you were gonna hug him so I did" Anya said stepping back as Giles reached his hand out towards Buffy.

She took it and he suddenly pulled her forward and covered her mouth with his. She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off her feet, holding her closer.

Buffy pulled away and touched his forehead with hers, staring into his eyes,

"Hi" she breathed against his lips, "Long time no anything"

Giles laughed, "I'm sorry love" he said as he let her down, taking her hand he pulled her towards the training room, "come, tell me what I've missed"

He stopped as he passed Willow,

"I'm very sorry about Tara" he said, squeezing Buffys hand when she let out a shaky breath.

"This….won't hold me….forever" Willow said, craning her neck and looking at him from the corner of her eye.

Giles looked a little alarmed as Buffy tugged him on, and through the door.

"Is she right?" she asked as she shut the door.

"I don't know" he said honestly watching as she sat on the couch, patting the spot beside her. He walked over and sat down, she turned to face him, pulling a leg up under her she leaned an arm against the back and rested her head on her hand as she looked at him, smiling as he did the same.

"What happened Buffy?" He asked and watched as the smile slipped from her face.

"Where do you want me to start? Oh I know the wedding that never happened" she smiled at him, "By the way, you will never see me in that dress, I burned all of the evidence including my memories of it"

Giles chuckled, "Darn" He took her right hand in his left and laced their fingers together, "Tell me"

"Okay, lets see, the week after the wedding I was looking for the merry band of nerds that have been causing so much trouble when I was attacked by a demon with waxy looking skin and a spike coming out of it's fist"

Giles' eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah you know the one. Well, he stabbed me and I experienced life in a mental institution. The hallucinations were so real and I'd come out of it and I would be having a contraction. Once, I come out of it and discovered my waters had broken, that was fun, but Ta….Tara was there for me the whole time. Will made me the antidote and made me drink it and I came round in time to deliver, Danielle was first and Alexander followed about half an hour later."

"I'm sorry I missed it, but I did feel it and now the fear and confusion makes sense" he said rubbing his hand down her arm.

"Thank you for my flowers by the way but the one on my pillow was enough for me"

"You deserved it" he said still stroking her arm, "What else did I miss?"

"Anya's a vengeance demon again and she slept with Spike, we only knew it had happened because Warren and Co had cameras everywhere, including one here. Xander saw it and went mad axeman on him, I managed to get to him in time to stop him killing him, I wish I hadn't now."

She shook her head at Giles' questioning gaze, "I'll get to that"

"Will tracked the camera signal and I went there, dodged giant buzz saws while grabbing anything I could. I was injured that night on a hunt and while I was getting ready for a bath Spike showed up and told me that I had feelings for him and proceeded to 'make me feel it' by trying to rape me" she stopped and looked up as he growled, his eyes burning with fury.

She cupped his cheek with her hand, stroking her thumb across his cheek, "Don't. He's gone. Hopefully he won't ever be back"

He closed his eyes and kissed her palm, "I'm sorry" he whispered.

"Why?"

"I wasn't there" he said sadly.

"No you were getting ready for this. I always knew there was a good reason, and now I know was right" she grinned at his eye roll.

"Now back to my story" she said shifting so she could lay her head on his lap.

"That same night we found out where Warren, Andrew and Jonathan would be so I went to meet them. Warren kicked the crap outta me, suddenly super strong, it turned out he had these magic orbs, once I smashed them he was easy to beat but he had a jet pack and he flew off." she stopped and sat up.

Moving his leg down she straddled his lap, his hands automatically resting on her hips,

"Now for this next part I need you to look at me, remember that I'm fine and as of right now extremely happy. Warren showed up in the backyard the next morning. He shot me then kept shooting"

His hands tightened on her hips and he looked over her, searching for the wound. She pulled her shirt aside and took one of his hands and placed it over the place the bullet had been,

"It was here. I don't know how close I was but Willow used magic to remove the bullet and heal the hole. See, I'm fine." she said leaning down, softly brushing his lips with hers,

"It wasn't until later that we found out a...about Tara. Dawn had come home as the paramedics arrived and Xander told her to stay with the twins. She found her, lying there, on the floor of Willows room, she stayed with her. I found her there when I got home"

She covered her face with her hands and sobbed, for Tara, for Dawn, for Willow, all of the suffering they had all been through poured out of her as Giles held her. He shifted her on his lap until she was sitting with her head on his shoulder, stroking her hair as she cried.

She calmed down and he handed her his handkerchief, "Feel better?" he murmured against her hair.

"A little, I'm just so tired, it feels like I haven't slept in a week"

"Well with the twins, I'm sure they keep you up..."

"They sleep through the night, have since they were born" she said looking up at him.

"Tell me about them"

"Dani is, as Dawn calls her, a fidget bug. Very rarely still, even when feeding, waving her arms or kicking her legs. She's blond. Alex is the calm one, he waits patiently for Dani to finish feeding, he has your hair colour. They're perfect"

"Who's with them now, Dawn?" he asked his eyes shining with happiness.

"No. Willow magicked Dawn here and now she's with Xander, Jonathan and Andrew running from Willow, I'll go find them once we know it's safe" She took a deep breath thinking of Dawn and Xander,

"Melinda's with them"

"Who's Melinda?"

"My neighbour. She moved in a few months a go. Tara met her in the magic box and it turned out she was magical. When Tara found out where she lived she introduced us. Melinda had heard of me and when she found out I was pregnant she offered to watch them whenever I needed it, no matter what time of the day or night it was and yes before you ask I checked her out, I had Will do a very thorough background check, even nabbed her fingerprints to make sure she was who she said she was"

Giles smiled down at her, "You've done brilliantly, with everything, I knew you would"

"Giles? What's going to happen to Willow?" she asked looking down.

"The coven is working on a way to extract the power from Willow without….killing her. And should she, uh, survive, you ought to know, Buffy, that there is a chance that she, uh, won't ever be the same girl. Willow has taken a human life, how will she be able to live with herself?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that"

Jumping up, Buffy saw Anya, unconscious, being held up by Willow.

 _Oh fuck! I'm not gonna let her hurt you, she'll have to kill me first._ Buffy thought glancing at him then back at Willow.

 _You're not going to die Buffy, the prophecy tells me that much_ he replied and he quickly let her see it

"Five! I'm gonna have three more!" she said out loud, too shocked to use the bond.

"What'd I miss?" Willow asked looking between them.

"Your anti-psychotic medication" Buffy said looking at her through narrowed eyes.

"Now that wasn't very nice, was it Giles" Willow said looking at them with a mock pout, "I'm gonna have to punish you for being mean to me"

Buffy looked at Giles and started forward to attack her. Willow lifted her hand and shot a bolt of magic at her, sending her crashing into the wall opposite. She hit the ground unconscious.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy came to slowly. She had no idea how long she had been out, she sat up and stared in horror at the wreckage in front of her. She stumbled over broken beams and piles of rubble as she headed to the shop. She reached the doorway as Giles was speaking.

"…...become meaningless. I wonder what Tara would say about that"

"You can ask her yourself" Willow said grimly. She lifted her hand and shot a bolt of magic at Giles.

Buffy ran forward and pushed him out from under the loft just as the whole thing came tumbling down. They landed in a heap on the floor, books and rubble raining don on them, Buffy taking the worst of it as she lay over the top of Giles, protecting him.

She lifted herself up on her elbows to look at Willow.

"You're always saving everyone, it's kinda pesky" Willow said, half amused, half annoyed.

She bent down and grabbed a ball of fire from the burning pile of books at her feet,

"You probably even think you're buying escape time for Jonathan and the other one, well, I gotta secret for ya.." She smiled at Buffy who was looking more and more upset,

I can kill them anywhere I want, with this"

She held up the ball of flame, waving her hand over it, it began to grow. She bounced it in her hand, smiling at Buffy,

"It'll find them, it'll bury 'em and anyone else helping those dead men walking"

Buffy got to her feet, wincing, as she stared at the ball of flame,

"Don't"

"Unless, somebody, somehow…..can get there in time to save them" she said mockingly a she looked between Buffy and Giles,

"Huh, oh well" she threw the ball up in the air. It rose up and burst through the ceiling leaving a large hole,

"Fly my pretty, fly" she said as she watched it disappear,

"You see what I did there?" Smiling at them, pleased with herself.

Buffy looked down at Giles, he was hurt and he could see her reluctance to leave him,

"Go" he said, indicating with his head that she should leave. She closed her eyes and ran.

 _I love you!_

 _And I you my love. Block the bond. Concentrate on them._

 _No!_

 _Block the bond!_

 _No! I won't do it. I need….I need to know…._

 _Block the bond! I need my strength, I can't. Do it Buffy!_

 _Promise me I'll see you later. Promise me you will get to hold our children._

 _I promise, now do it._

Sobbing as she ran through Sunnydale following the ball of flame, she shut off the bond. She swiped at her eyes, clearing them, she looked up and ran faster as she realized what direction it was going.

She got to Restfield before the ball of flame and saw Dawn staring up at it, Xander moved to her side and looked up as well,

"Get out of there!" She shouted. Are _they seriously just staring at me?!_

She jumped over headstones as she ran harder, "Move!"

She launched herself at Jonathan and Andrew, pulling them to the floor as the fire ball hit the ground. She looked up to see Xander smash his head against a headstone, falling to the floor unconscious, she saw Dawn trying to crawl towards her as the earth began to shake,

"Dawn! Dawn hold on"

She lurched to her feet trying to reach her but she fell into the hole that opened up right beneath her, Dawn screamed and as Buffy tried to grab her she fell in too.

They both hit the floor with a thud as dirt fell onto them from above, groaning Buffy opened her eyes in time to see one of the swords the boys had falling towards her, she rolled to the side just as it landed where her head had been, the point embedded in the earth. Dawn, who had pushed herself up, stared at the sword, fear in her eyes.

Buffy stood up just as the second sword landed next to the first and brushed the dirt off as she looked around. They were in a sort of cavern with uneven dirt walls and partially visible coffins, Dawn stood next to her, both looking up as they realized it wasn't going to be an easy climb out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anya stumbled out of the training room looking around her in horror at the destruction around her. She walked slowly into the main room and saw Giles lying in the middle of what used to be her shop.

"Giles!" She ran over and knelt beside him, his eyes were closed and he was barely breathing.

Reaching out she gently gave him a shake, "Giles!"

His eyes suddenly open, "Anya"

"I'm so sorry. Willow forced me to free her with her brain. Are you okay?"

"I can see..."

"Oh. It's a….miracle" she said uncertainly.

"Willow….I can see her….I know where she is. I can feel what...Oh, God."

"Giles...you have to rest"

"Silly girl" He said looking at her, "I'm dying"

"No, you're not." Anya said looking at him in alarm.

"It was….it was the only way, I thought we...there'd be a chance….now..."

"Of course there'll be a chance. You and Buffy are going to get wrinkly and old and have grandchildren and be happy. You both deserve to be happy" she smiled weakly at him, tears pooling in her eyes.

He gave her a small smile, "I know where Willow is. She going to finish it."

"Finish what?" she asked confused.

"The world"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy stood on a coffin trying to climb out of the hole, she reached for a thick root and pulled herself up but the root gave way and she fell back, yelling in surprise, and landed on the coffin below her.

"Buffy!"

She scrambled up and brushed the dirt off of herself and stared up at the hole.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked looking up at her.

"Yeah, we have to get out of here. Xander!" she yelled.

"I think I saw him hit his head" Dawn said quietly.

"I know, I saw it. Xander!" She yelled again.

They both waited but there was no response. The sun had risen and they could see blue sky.

"Shit! The twins will be up soon and I need to feed them, plus, you know, there's Willow" she said jumping down.

She walked over to a wall and tried to pull the coffin out of it.

"This looks a little like Spikes place, you know, under it."

"I don't want to talk about Spike" Buffy said as she strained against the weight of the coffin.

"Why not? He's been helping us hasn't he? I don't get why he would just leave"

"Because I told him to Dawn!" Buffy snapped turning to face her.

"Why?"

"Because he tried to rape me! I told him I didn't have feelings for him and he tried to 'convince' me that I did!"

"Oh my god" Dawn whispered, looking at her sister in shock she walked forward and put her arms around her, "I'm sorry, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you didn't need to know"

"Yes, I do. I need to know! I'm not a kid anymore" She said angrily.

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"Well you can't not from everything! We're trapped in here, Willows gone psycho and is killing people and the people I love keep dying. You can't protect me from that"

"Dawn.."

"Hello?" Xander called down.

Buffy and Dawn looked up and saw him kneeling at the edge of the hole looking down.

"Xander?"

"Buffy, you okay? Where's Dawn?"

Dawn moved forward and stood next to Buffy so he could see her, "I'm here"

"Are Jonathan and Andrew up there with you?" Buffy called up.

He looked around, "No, they musta skedaddled when I was out, weasels. Whoa!" the dirt crumbled under his hand and he had to move quickly to avoid falling in with them.

"Xander, you've gotta find some rope or something and get us out of here"

"Right, okay I'll look around"

"And hurry before….Anya!"

Anya appeared in a swirl of magic, jumping slightly she looked around, "Holy frijole!"

"What are you doing here? Where's Giles?" Buffy asked trying to dampening the panic that was clawing it's way up her chest.

"He's still at the magic shop"

"Giles is back? You didn't tell me that" Dawn said

"Been a little busy dodging fire balls and trying to get out of here" Buffy said rolling her eyes. She looked back at Anya,

"Did he stop Willow?"

"No. And things just got a whole lot worse"

"How worse?" Buffy asked, _please tell me she didn't kill him_

"End of the world worse, Willows going to destroy it"

"She can do that?" Dawn asked amazed.

"She can and she will when she gets to where she's going"

"Where's she going?" Buffy asked.

"Big ass satanic temple. Kingman's Bluff?"

"There's...no temple on Kingman's Bluff" Buffy said looking at Dawn in confusion.

"There was. Built for a demon called Proserpexa"

"Who's she?"

"Uh, way up there in the hierarchy of she-demons"

"So she was a big deal then?"

"Yeah a big fucking deal. Her followers intended to use her effigy to destroy the world but they all died when the temple was swallowed by the big earthquake of thirty two"

"So now seventy years later Willow is going to make their dreams come true" Buffy said trying to get it straight in her head.

"She's going to drain the planet's life force, then funnel it's energy through Proserpexa's effigy and….and burn the earth to a cinder"

"Not if I can help it"

"You can't" Anya said bluntly. Buffy and Dawn looked at her in shock and confusion,

"Something else Giles said. No magic or supernatural force can stop her"

"What does that mean?" Buffy said, a tingle of unease tickled the back of her brain.

"Don't know. He, he said, 'the Slayer can't stop her' and then he said a bunch of other stuff" she looked at them anxious now, "he wasn't to clear"

Buffys unease blossomed into full blown fear, "Anya, what are you…."

Anya looked at her nervously, "I...I really should get back to him. He's alone."

"Is he okay?" Buffy asked worriedly.

Anya fidgeted as she she looked away from them, Buffy stepped forward and grabbed her hands,

"Anya! Tell me that he's okay!"

"I can't" Anya said quietly, looking up at Buffy with tears in her eyes, "I….don't think he….has a lot of time left"

Buffy gasped and stood back hugging herself as she shook her head,

"No..."

"I'm sorry Buffy" Anya said then disappeared in a swirl of magic.

Buffy stood there shaking her head, not willing to accept what Anya had said, suddenly she looked up,

"Xander! Wheres that rope?!" She called harshly.

"Buffy..."

"Xander! Where is he?"

"You heard what Anya said" she gulped when she saw the pain flicker on Buffys face, "You heard what Giles said"

"I heard" Buffy whispered, "And I don't care, I have to try"

Dawn watched as Buffy desperately tried pulling coffins from the walls, with a shuddering breath she moved forward to help her.

"I have to stop her…." she stopped as she heard Willows voice.

 _Always the slayer, right to the last_

"Willow?" she asked uncertainly, ignoring Dawns look of confusion.

 _And it is the last, you know? For all your fighting….thinking you're saving the world…_

"Buffy?" Dawn asks, Buffy holds a hand up to stop her, listening to Willow.

 _And in the end….I'm the only one that can save it._

"By killing us?"

 _It's the only way to stop the pain, I can't take it anymore. But I know you, Buffy. You're a warrior. You won't go out without a fight. I don't really have time for one. But you should go out fighting._

"Willow, what are you…."

 _It was me that took you out of the earth. Well, now the earth wants you back._

The ground of the cavern started to rumble, as Dawn looked at Buffy, alarmed, the walls turned into monsters.

Made out of the earth the detached themselves from the walls and moved towards them. Buffy moved in front of Dawn as they looked around themselves.

Scared and in sure what to do Dawn looked over her shoulder at Buffy,

"Buffy..."

She didn't answer her, instead she lunged for the sword sticking up out of the ground and swung it at the two monsters closest to them, following through with a kick.

Dawn watched another monster detach from the wall,

"Buffy!"

She swung the sword and sliced off a clawed hand, it fell to the ground as Buffy spun and kicked the third monster in the head. It slumped to the floor and stayed there.

She stood next to Dawn, more monsters were appearing,

"They just keep coming. I can't take them all" She turned to Dawn and held out her sword,

"Will you help me?"

Dawn looked at her in surprise. Nervous but determined to help she held her hand out and took the sword from her.

Dawn nodded, "I got your back"

Buffy turned and picked up the other sword, kicking one of them in the back as Dawn rushed forward.

The ground began to shake making them stagger, Buffy looked up,

"Willow…."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The shaking stopped and Anya looked around nervously. She looked at Giles but he had his eyes closed and he wasn't moving.

"Giles? Giles! Don't die" she brushed at the tears as they fell, "Not yet, there….there are things I wanna tell you"

She paused, watching for his next breath, "It was good of you to teleport all this way to help…."

She ducked as another tremor hit, covering Giles as she hid in his chest,

"Though in retrospect, it probably would have been better if you hadn't come then Willow wouldn't have all that magic making her, like, ten times more powerful. That would have been a plus" she said sadly.

Giles' eyes popped open and she sat back in shock.

"There..." he whispered.

"What?" She asked, her hand supporting his head.

"It's not over yet"

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy staggered forward as a monster hit her in the back. She looked up at Dawns yell and saw a monster slash at her arm with it's claws then she was hit in the face, hitting the floor.

Buffy ducked under a swinging arm and swung her sword at another, focused on getting to Dawn,

"Dawn! I'm coming!" she yelled deflecting another clawed hand away from her head.

She saw Dawn look up with determination as the monster prepared to attack her again, she was still blocked by another monster and all she could do was watch in alarm as the monster advanced on her sister.

But Dawn ducked under the arm swinging at her head, rolled past it landing next to her sword, grabbing it she got up and stabbed it in the chest, amazed Buffy watched her sister slice off the demons head.

Dawn looked at her with a smile on her face, "What? You think I never watched you training?"

Buffy just looked at her, pride welling up inside her. Then the moment was over as more monsters began detaching themselves from the walls, they stood back-to-back, each of them holding a sword up and began to fight.

Half way through an attack Buffy stumbled forward as the monster crumbled into dust.

Looking around at her sister she noticed that they had all vanished.

"What happened?" Dawn asked lowering her sword.

"Not a clue" Buffy said looking around. She looked back at her sister, "But I can tell you that starting today, things are gonna change"

"Really, how?"

"For starters, I think it's time I gave you some training"

"Really?" Dawns eyes lit up.

"Really. I should have started long ago"

"So I can start training today then?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"No. Today I need to hold my babies and I need to...to know if Giles….if Giles is okay?"

"He's still alive?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how bad he is?

"That's good. Can I start training tomorrow?"

Buffy laughed, "Let's just get out of here first shall we?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anya sat on the floor with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth. She heard a noise in front of her and looked up to see Giles sitting up,

"Giles!" She rushed over and knelt down next to him, "You're not dead!"

"No" he winced as Anya hugged him hard, "However, I am still in some pain."

"Oh, well, why aren't you dead? Why aren't I dead?" She asked frowning at him.

"Uh, the threats gone. Willows been stopped" he said trying to sit up.

Anya leaned forward and helped him, "Oh. You mean she's….."

"No, she's alive. The magic she took from me did what I hoped it would"

"Oh, you dosed her didn't you, you knew she'd take your powers all along"

"Yes. The gift I was given by the coven was the true essence of magic. Willows magic came from a….place of rage and power."

"And vengeance. Don't forget vengeance"

"Oh. How could I?" he said giving her a small smile, "In any case, the magic she took from me tapped into...the spark of humanity she had left. Helped her to feel again. Gave Xander the opportunity to….reach her"

Anya looked at him surprised, "Xander?"

"Yes. It was Xander who got to her in time" Smiling he looked at her, "He saved us all"

Anya gazed at Giles as she tried to absorb what he had just said, then she smiled back at him.

She helped him to stand, put her arm around him, "Hospital?"

"No. Take me to Buffys house"

"Oh yeah, the twins. And Buffy, obviously"

"Obviously" he said smiling as she let him lean on her as they walked from the shop.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Buffy?!" Melinda called as soon as she saw her, jumping from the porch she threw her arms around her and Dawn, "Thank the goddess you're okay, I was worried"

"We're fine, it came close but we pulled through" Buffy said as she pulled back, "Are the twins okay?"

"Oh, they're perfect angels, they fussed a little but they slept straight through"

"Thank you Melinda, I don't know what I would do without you" she said smiling at her.

"Oh, your friend Anya dropped a man off on the couch a little while ago, he's sleeping, looks pretty banged up"

Buffys smile grew and she closed her eyes breathing a sigh of relief, "Giles"

"Oh that's Giles. He's handsome" she said smiling, "I'm going home to sleep, I'm glad you're both okay" she hugged Dawn and walked across the lawn and into her house.

Buffy ran up the steps and into the house, Dawn trudging tiredly behind her.

Buffy looked down at Giles' sleeping form, his boots were on the floor next to the couch, his jacket thrown over the back of it and he had a blanket laid over him. She looked at Dawn then ushered her upstairs,

"I'm going to have a quick shower before the twins wake up. Why don't you go to bed. Things should be quiet for a while now so you can sleep"

"Okay, Buffy..."

"Yeah?" she turned at the bathroom and looked back at her.

"I'm really glad Giles is okay" She smiled at her sister and shut her bedroom door.

Buffy turned the shower on as hot as it would go and stripped out of her clothes, Putting them in the hamper, even the shoes, she stepped under the spray, letting the heat envelop her as she leaned against the wall.

She wondered what had happened to Willow, where Xander had got to and if she had time to make a tea before the twins woke up.

She washed away the dirt from the pit and washed her hair before getting out. She wrapped her hair in a towel as she dried herself before slipping on her new pale blue silk bathrobe, giving her hair a quick rub she left the bathroom to collect the twins.

Looking down at them, Dani looking up at her and waving her fists and Alex still sleeping peacefully, she smiled,

"You hungry baby girl?" she asked as she scooped her up with one hand, leaning over she did the same with Alex.

Holding their heads to her chest she took them downstairs and laid Alex in the travel cot, leaning over as far as she could as she did it.

She turned and pulled the armchair, as quietly as she could, closer to the coffee table and sat down. She pulled her Slayer diary and a pen out of her pocket and placed them on one arm then put a pillow against her side, she moved Dani over and pulled her robe open,

"There you go, little dove, breakfast time" she whispered as she held her breast for her daughter to latch on, wincing as she gripped it in her little fist.

She put her feet on the coffee table, bending one leg up so she could rest her diary on it, opened it, looked at the time and started to write about the last few days,

 _7am May 22nd,_

 _Where do I start….._


	4. Part 4

**Disclaimer:-** I own nothing but the imagination. The song belongs to Disney and Phil Collins.

 **Rating:- M**

 **A/N:-** AU version of events after Grave. Sorry it took so long, I got distracted by those mundane everyday things we have to do like washing and tidying up. Plus the kids are now on holiday so there's that to contend with. Hope you like it, let me know with those reviews us writers are always asking for.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 13

Tonight was date night and as Buffy stood in front of her mirror adjusting her dress and fluffing the curls on her head. She gently brushed her finger tip under eye to smudge the eyeliner a little more, her eyes a smokey black instead of the usual natural look, she thought back over the last few weeks.

Giles had spent the time recovering from the injuries he sustained fighting Willow, getting to know his children and reading her Slayer journals. They had talked about everything he had missed and he had used a fair few invective's, some of which she had never heard before, when he had found out about what had happened with Spike.

She giggled as she put her earrings in remembering the times he had looked up in shock that had quickly melted in to love when he read something she had written about him. They had barely been able to hug and after the first morning, she had been hesitant to kiss him fearing she would cause him pain so they had made a deal – Giles would allow her to care for him and she would take him out to dinner when he had recovered, then afterwards they would head to a hotel so he could follow through on that fantasy he had had when she first opened Dawns birthday present.

She turned at the sound of Alex gurgling in his crib and smiled. At nearly eight weeks, he and his sister were growing surprisingly fast, both now on only formula as Buffys milk had unexpectedly dried up. Giles had theories of course but Buffy thought it was, as the doctor said, just something that happens. At first she didn't like the fact that they were now being fed with bottles instead of by her but they were happy and healthy and didn't seem to be having a problem with the change.

Giles had disappeared that morning after their smoochies had been interrupted by the twins. Giles had taken to being a father like she thought he would and had made quick work of their diapers, letting her have an uninterrupted shower.

She'd reentered their room to find him sitting in the rocking chair feeding Alex, humming softly to him. She had stood there in a towel and watched with a smile on her face, trying very hard to forget that he might have to leave for England at anytime because of Willow.

As she applied her dark red lipstick she sighed, the coven had sent someone for her three days after the big show down.

Xander had been despondent at first so she had kept him at the house as much as possible, inviting him for dinners, asking for his help with the twins while Giles recovered, asking him to drive Dawn to their dads for her stay with him. He had gradually opened up again thanks to a few long talks about what had happened and was now waiting downstairs with a huge bowl of popcorn on babysitting duty for the night.

She shivered in anticipation as apparently Giles had asked him to babysit _all_ night. Smiling when she heard the knock at the door, feeling Giles' anticipation and nervousness through the bond, she looked at herself once more, her wrap dress from Dawn showed no hint of the underwear under it. She admired herself in the mirror and smiled in anticipation of his reaction.

She slipped on her black suede pumps then walked over to the twins and gave each of them a kiss as she gently brushed her fingers over their hair which was now showing signs of curls. She picked up the monitor and her bag then left the room with a last look over her shoulder at her sleeping children.

She got to the top of the stairs ad just stood there for a second admiring the man standing at the bottom. He was wearing a dark green cotton shirt loosely tucked into black jeans with black work boots.

She started down the stairs and he turned towards her,

 _And an earring. Guess that means Ripper wants to play_ she thought as she smiled at the slacked jawed expression on his face.

"You boys plannin' on catchin' flies?" she drawled as she carefully stepped her way down the stairs.

Stopping in front of Giles she pushed his mouth closed with a finger,

"Hello lover" she purred, brushing his lips with hers she heard him growl in her head,

 _Yes he does, I hope you've had plenty of rest today luv 'cause you ain't sleepin' tonight_

She smiled and brushed her fingers over his crotch as she passed him to tell Xander what he needed to know.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Giles paused outside her house and took a deep breath, he hadn't been this nervous for a date since he was a teenager. He had purchased the house she had liked a couple of months before but had signed the papers yesterday and all without her knowing, he felt quite proud of himself that he had managed to block his plans and excitement from her.

Xander had helped him move some of his things, namely his bed, from his old flat into the new place, leaving the rest for the movers who he had arranged to pick up the rest of his and then drive to Buffys house for her stuff in three days time.

He had dinner waiting on a newly purchased dining table complete with table cloth, silver wear and candles. The candles were upstairs too, in the master bedroom she had quite rightly called theirs when she first saw the place as well as in the bathroom adjacent to it.

He also had a surprise for her sitting in on her place setting at the table, hoping with every fiber of his being it was still what she wanted. She had given no indication that it wasn't but he knew his Buffy well enough to know that with something like this she would have told him, but things had changed, he knew this and some of it (okay most of it) was his fault which lead him to doubt.

He nervously fingered the blind fold in his pocket and knocked on the door only to have it open mere seconds later.

"G-man, wondered when you'd knock" Xander said with a grin, "I saw you pull up, nervous huh?"

"A little although I don't know why and please don't call me that" Giles said as he passed over the threshold and shut the door behind him.

"Yeah, you keep saying that" Xander said as he flopped back down onto the couch, his feet immediately dropping onto the coffee table and throwing a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"Then one would think you would listen to me and stop using that awful moniker" Giles said as he glanced up the stairs then back at him with a grin.

"You would think" Xander replied with a smirk.

 _And an earring. Guess that means Ripper wants to play_ he heard her say and fought back the grin her words provoked.

He looked up and his jaw dropped open, Giles spun round and saw a vision walking down the stairs towards him and his jaw dropped as well, for once utterly lost for words. She had on the dress that Dawn had bought her for her birthday with a pair of black heels, her make up made her look sultry and his cock stirred to life in anticipation of the night ahead.

"You boys plannin' on catchin' flies?" Buffy drawled in her best southern accent as she carefully made her way down the stairs.

She stopped in front of Giles, placed a finger under his chin and gently pushed his mouth shut,

"Hello lover" she whispered and softly brushed his lips with hers smiling when she saw his eyelids slide shut.

 _Yes he does, I hope you've had plenty of rest today luv 'cause you ain't sleepin' tonight_ he said to her.

"Xand shut your mouth please, the chewed popcorn look is so not attractive" she said with a grin as she stepped past Giles surreptitiously brushing her fingertips over his groin.

"Here is the monitor, bottles are in the fridge and although I doubt you'll need us, I have my cellphone anyway" she said as she put the monitor on the table next to his feet before shoving them off and onto the floor.

"Buff you look….hot!" he said finally finding his voice and sitting up.

"Duh" she said with a grin.

"For once I would have to agree with Xander" Giles said as she walked back to him, "although I will add that you look good enough to eat" he said with a low growl as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips.

"Okay, eewww, leave that shit for when I can't hear it, I beg you" Xander said, his grin taking the sting out of his words.

Buffy was lost in the green eyes, darkened with desire, as she read the promise in them. She swallowed and turned to Xander,

"Right, see you later and any problems…."

"Yeah I know, you have your cell, go do whatever already" he said waving them away.

"Yeah okay, bye" Buffy said as Giles pulled open the door and offered her his arm.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So watcher mine, where are you taking me? Even though we agreed I would be taking you out, you somehow manged to turn the tables on me" she said as she gripped his arm and laid her head on his bicep.

He stopped half way to the car and turned her to face him, cupping her face in his hands he bent and brushed a kiss on her mouth,

"You look beautiful" he whispered against her mouth.

"Makes a change from sweats and a tank top covered in baby vomit huh" she whispered back looking into his eyes as she locked her arms around his neck.

He brushed the skin under her eye, "Honestly, even then I think you're beautiful" he said as he stepped back and took her hand in his.

"Yes well, you do get a lot of head injuries, maybe they're starting to affect you're faculties" she said giggling when he growled and pulled her to the car.

He stopped and opened her door, "Get in the bloody car so I can show you how affected my faculties are woman" he growled playfully as he helped her in to her seat.

She giggled and swung her legs into the car, watching as he walked around to his side. As soon as he was in and seated she reached her hand over and ran her fingers over the bulge in his jeans, grinning when a low moan escaped his throat as he started the car and pulled away.

"I think you're functioning just fine in that department, how far do we have to drive?" she asked as her explorations became bolder.

"Not f..far, Christ Buffy" he said as she deftly unzipped him and drew him out, startling him into jerking the wheel.

"Do I have time for this?" she asked and then lay across the seat until he felt her warm breath on his rigid cock.

"Aah, maybe, yes I believe we do" he said as his heart rate increased in anticipation for what she was about to do. He groaned and thrust his hips toward her willing mouth then quickly pulled over to the side of the road as he felt her tongue lick over his sensitive glans before she engulfed him and sucked while pumping the shaft with her hand.

He put his hand on her head and gently encouraged her further, moaning she complied and took as much of his length as she could in her hot mouth. Gently using her teeth, she slowly pulled her head back before plunging down again and sucking hard as she slid her tongue over the vein on the underside of his cock.

Giles had his head back against the seat as he panted and moaned. It had been so long since he had had a release that he didn't bother trying to control himself. She circled the head with her tongue then sucked on it hard before swallowing him whole. He looked down at the blonde curls bobbing in his lap, groaning as she started to fondle his balls in her other hand, his hand tangled itself in her hair as his other gripped the steering wheel as he tried to control the urge to thrust into her mouth.

He could feel a tingle in his lower back as she started to slow down, he moaned and pressed harder on her head but she ignored his direction. Frowning he wondered what she was up to until she started humming low in her throat.

"Fuck!" he arched his hips and his control snapped as he started to thrust into her mouth his hand convulsively tightening around the steering wheel.

She gently squeezed his balls and increased her speed, humming the entire time, bobbing her head in time with his thrusts and before he knew it he felt a tightening in his balls.

"Buffy!" he shouted her name as he came, pumping stream after stream of his seed into her mouth, stars exploding on the backs of his eyelids as she brought him over the edge in an explosive orgasm.

She swallowed as much as she could and continued to lick and suck every drop from him, cleaning him off. When she was done she gently tucked him back inside his jeans and zipped him back up.

Lifting her head she gave him a self satisfied grin, "Do you need me to drive?" she asked innocently as she saw his glazed look.

"Why did you do that?" he asked breathlessly.

She shrugged and checked her lipstick in the visor mirror, "I wanted to. It's been too long since I had the chance" she said looking at him with a smile.

He looked at her, a dark hunger in his eyes that took her breath away and before she could say anything he pulled her to him and crushed his mouth to hers, thrusting his tongue in her mouth as he tangled his fingers in her hair, holding her to him.

She moaned into his mouth and wiggled closer bringing her hands up to his chest before sliding them up and around his neck. Her tongue sliding along his as he made love to her mouth, adding more moisture to her already wet panties.

Pulling back and sucking in a deep breath he looked at her smiling face and groaned, "I think we should go now before I fuck you right here in this car"

She groaned in response and licked her lips, "Better get going before I take matters into my own hands then" she said trailing her hands down over his shoulders and onto his chest before leaning forward,

"I want you inside me" she whispered in his ear before kissing the spot under his ear as her thumbs brushed over his nipples through his shirt.

He growled and turned the key in the ignition pulling away from the curb fast and forcing her to fall back to the seat with a giggle. He reached into his pocket and handed her the blindfold.

"Put this on luv, I don't want you knowing where we're going, it's a surprise" he said giving her a very Ripperish grin.

She tied the blindfold around her head and sat back, shivering in anticipation.

"You do realise I know that you've been hiding something from me" she said as she smoothed down her dress over her chest, smirking when she heard a soft groan from his direction.

"Yes dear" he said and she heard the smile in his voice.

She felt him take her left hand, gently rubbing his thumb over her ring finger and she smiled softly.

 _Our little secret. And it's today that it's been two years_ she thought.

 _I know, Happy Anniversary my love_ he thought as he brought her hand to his lips.

She felt the car pull over and slow to a stop ten minutes later, looking in his direction when she heard the click of his belt release and the door opening.

She strained her hearing but heard nothing other than the usual sounds of the night, she extended her Slayer sense and felt nothing in the immediate area. She had run a quick patrol earlier but it was quiet, only one vamp was introduced to Mr Pointy.

Her door opened and she felt his hand on her arm giving her a gentle tug as he helped her out of the car. He guided her around the car and up onto the curb, his hand cupping her elbow as she felt the subtle change from the asphalt of the path to the smooth cement of a walkway.

"Steps in front of you love, four of them, now" he said softly as he held her tighter when she lifted her foot for the first step.

She heard a key enter a lock and turn then the puff of air as he pushed open a door, the soft notes of their song started somewhere in front of her as he placed both hands in hers and gently tugged her forward.

He pulled her into the house and guided her to the dining table before letting her hands go and pulling her chair out, taking her arm he guided her to the seat as he pushed it under her. Once she was seated he waved his hand and the candles in the room lit themselves, she swiveled her head as her Slayer enhanced hearing registered the tiny whoosh of the flames.

He sat at the table next to her, "You can take the blindfold off now love" he said.

He watched her raise her hands to the back of her head and loosen the knot before pulling the cloth away from her eyes. She looked around, blinking at the sudden invasion of light, and he watched as she realized where she was, her eyes widening with wonder as her gaze snapped to him.

"You bought the house? When did you buy the house?" she asked as she grabbed his hand.

"A few months ago, when I realized I was needed at the coven, I purchased it over the phone and signed the papers yesterday" he said his smile widening at the joy shining from her eyes.

"Is that what this is?" she asked pointing to the box in front of her.

"Yes as well as something else" he said resisting the urge to laugh at her frown of confusion, "Open it"

She took her hand back and gently lifted the lid of the pale blue box in front of her. She looked inside and saw a large ring box sitting on top of a sheet of paper that had both of their signatures scrawled across the bottom. She put the lid down next to her and lifted the ring box, knowing what was inside she couldn't help the way her heart hammered in her chest. She pinched the lid between her fingers and pulled it open, her tears flowing freely when she saw their wedding bands nestled in the black fabric.

She looked up at him a huge smile on her face,

"I had hoped" she whispered, "all that time after you left I was waiting for you to send me divorce papers, then you never said anything about it and I didn't want to ask just in case you didn't want me that way any more, I didn't want you to feel obligated to stay with me just because of the twins..."

He broke off her ramble by covering her mouth with his, framing her face in his hands he molded his lips to hers, tasting her tears on her lips. He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers,

"Always and forever remember" he said softly then took the box from her and pulled out her ring, taking her hand in his he held the ring over her finger,

"Do you still want to be my wife?" he asked

"More than anything in the world" she said huskily, her voice thick with unshed tears.

He slipped the ring on and kissed it before she took her hand away and pulled his ring out of the box, she held it over his finger and smiled at him,

"Do you still want to be my husband?"

"Until the world ends I will always be yours" he said in a strong clear voice despite the tumult of emotions expanding in his chest.

She slid his ring on and kissed it before pulling it, and him, forward so she could cover his face in soft kisses before he managed to claim her lips.

After a few minutes of slow, smoldering kisses he pulled back and reached under the table for the smaller box he had put on the other chair earlier in the day.

"I also have this for you my love, a thank you for the children" he said as he handed her the open box.

She gasped when she saw the ring nestled in white satin. It was white gold like her wedding band with a square diamond nestled between two small emeralds and a filigree scroll design either side them. She looked at him as she wiped the tears from her cheeks,

"You didn't need to do this" she said softly.

"No I didn't need to, I _wanted_ to, after all I never did get you an engagement ring" he said with a grin as he put it on her finger, sliding it down so it nestled against her wedding ring.

She chuckled wetly as she looked at it on her finger, "I take it we're telling the guys about us being husband and wife for the last two years then, maybe even have an actual wedding at some point?"

"Of course I just didn't want to keep referring to you as simply my girlfriend any longer Mrs Giles" he said looking up at her as she stood.

She bent her face to his and brushed his lips with hers, gently trailing her fingers over his cheek, "I agree Mr Giles" she said then stood and walked slowly away, his eyes unable to look away from her swaying hips.

She stopped and turned towards him, pulling at the sash that held her dress together, "Now are you going to be opening your present or not?"

She giggled when he launched himself at her, gripping her waist he spun her so her back was against the door frame before he bent his head and covered her mouth with his, her mouth already open to him he thrust his tongue into her mouth swallowing her groan as he pushed his thigh between her legs and thrust himself against her hip.

As he was plundering her mouth his hands moved down over her shoulders and ribs to her waist where he slowly unraveled the bow at her hip then pulled open her dress and loosened the sash enough to push it from her shoulders as she lowered her arms. He guided it down her arms before letting it pool at her feet.

Before he could run his hands over her body she put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. He saw the out and out lust burning into him from her eyes and then he looked down, his eyes trailing over her swollen lips and down to her chest. He gasped as he saw the black see through bra and panties she was wearing, her hand drew his attention as she ran her finger over the top of her bra and down the valley between her breasts. He watched as she trailed her finger down over her stomach and inserting it under the edge of her panties.

"Do you like your present my love?" she asked in a sultry whisper. She turned from him and he growled low in his throat when he saw that she had a thong on.

When she had turned back to face him he pushed her back against the wall and kissed her, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and gently rolling it between his teeth before lightly brushing it with his tongue. Her hands were busy removing his shirt, her fingers deftly undoing his buttons before yanking the tails from his jeans and just ripping it the rest of the way open before dragging her nails through the hair on his chest, grazing his nipples causing him to groan.

He helped her remove his shirt while kissing his way down her throat to her shoulder, sucking the skin over her collarbone made her groan and she curled her leg around his thigh pulling him closer.

"God Giles!" she moaned as he bit her nipple through the sheer material of her bra, licking and sucking at it until it had become so hard that each breath was torture then moving on to the other and giving it the same attention.

He ran his hands down her back and over her firm rear, as he licked the valley between her breasts.

He left one hand on her rear, sliding the other over her hip and between her thighs. She hummed in pleasure as he traced the edge of her panties with a finger before sliding it inside and running it gently over the top of her slit.

He moaned when he felt how wet she was, "Is this all for me love?" he asked as he placed sucking kisses over the swell of her breasts.

"Yes yours, only yours" she gasped as he slowly inserted a finger into her slick channel.

She pulled his head up to her mouth and crushed her mouth to his, forcing her tongue through his lips as he added a second finger. She gasped and pulled him closer, moaning into his mouth as he pumped his fingers inside her.

He lowered himself to his knees in front of her, kissing and licking his way down, making her squirm as his lips left a fiery trail of need across her skin. He removed his fingers, grinning at her whimper of protest before he bent his head and ran his tongue along the crotch of her panties, applying pressure when he reached her swollen nub.

"Please" she moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Please what love?" he asked looking up at her.

"Do it, now, please" she begged.

He ripped her panties off and buried his head in the heavenly nectar of her sex. She screamed and threw a leg over his shoulder as he licked the length of her labia, circling her clit with his tongue before plunging it inside her eliciting a load shuddering moan as he fucked her with his tongue.

He slowly drew his tongue up and around her nub as he thrust two fingers inside her, holding her still with an arm across her stomach he flicked his tongue over it before sucking it, hard.

"Fuck!" she screamed as she ground her sex down onto his hand, gripping the back of his head, holding him to her. Her breath coming in short sharp pants as she came closer to her release. Her legs were shaking in time with every tremor that he caused to rip through her body, the shocks coming closer together all focusing on the heat between her legs.

He curved his fingers inside her and rubbed against the most sensitive part as he sucked at her clit, flicking his tongue over it and she couldn't hold back any more. Her body exploded in intense pleasure as her orgasm ripped through her, not noticing that he had removed his hand and was now holding her up as he licked, sucked and nibbled her over into a second orgasm, more intense than the first. Her screams shattering the silence and echoing around the empty house.

He stood and braced her against the wall, her face flushed and covered in a light sheen of sweat, her chest heaving as she sucked air into her lungs. Her eyes opened and she gave him a satisfied smile before pulling his head down to hers and kissing him. She groaned as she tasted herself on his lips, she traced his upper lip with the tip of her tongue and he opened his mouth for her, moaning when he felt her nails lightly scratch over his scalp.

He lifted her up and encouraged her legs to wrap around his waist as moved towards the stairs,

"I haven't finished with you yet love, that was just payback for the car" he said against her hair when she laid her head on his shoulder. He got to the top of the stairs and turned right towards their new bedroom.

"Oh goody" she said lifting her head, kissing the corner of his mouth, "Do I get to know what you have planned for me?"

He pulled her legs from around his waist and lowered her to her feet, "I plan on making up for lost time" he said, running his hands down her back and over her ass.

Pulling her flush against him so she could feel his arousal he ran a hand back up to her bra and flicked it open as he roughly covered her mouth with his, her hands busy at his waist as she popped the button on his jeans and lowered the fly before running her nails over his member causing him to gasp and thrust into her hand. He pulled the straps down over her arms and she stopped her teasing to let it fall to the floor.

He pushed her away from him and growled at the sight before him, naked except for the heels, she was beautiful. Her breasts a little bigger thanks to the breast feeding, her skin glowing in the candle light.

"My beautiful Buffy" he said reverently as he stepped closer and lightly brushed his hands over her body.

He turned her around and pushed her over the edge of the bed until she was bent over and leaning on her arms. He pushed his jeans down as he kicked off his boots before removing his socks and shucking his jeans, kicking them aside before reaching for the condoms he left just under the bed. Sliding one on, he ran his hand over her rear as he nudged her legs open with his knee before standing behind her.

She could feel his hand burning a path over her skin as his hand moved over her butt and along her spine, his breath fanning the flames higher as he kissed and licked his way up to her neck. She felt the tip of his penis rub along her slit before he pushed his way into her, slowly filling her as she whimpered and moaned, her body shaking as she fought the urge to push back against him.

His hands covered her breasts, kneading them before rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She arched her back, pushing herself into his hands as she felt his hips hit her ass. He pulled out and as he thrust himself forward in one hard stroke he bit down on her shoulder and pulled down on her nipples, twisting them as he did.

Still reeling from the orgasms she had under the ministrations of his talented tongue and fingers her eyes opened and moaned loudly as her orgasm ripped through her with no warning.

He held still inside her as he flicked his tongue over the mark he made on her shoulder, waiting for her to calm. She pushed back against him and he pulled out slowly until just the head remained inside, he pushed himself upright and gripped her hips before slamming back into her.

He did this a few times, the sweet almost pain of him hitting her cervix with each thrust making her whimper in delight but she wanted more,

"Fuck me Ripper, do it" she flicked her hair back and looked at him, her eyes darkened by desire.

He growled and bent over her, twisting his hand in her hair he pulled her head up as his other hand gripped her breast, his lips covered hers and they both moaned as he started to pound into her, harder and faster. He let go of her hair and slid his hands under her, over her breasts and up to grip her shoulders, pulling her back as he thrust into her, his forearms rubbing against her nipples.

"Oh god, yes! Like that" she moaned, she lifted an arm and gripped the back of his head, bringing him closer as his forehead rested on her shoulder blade, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine adding to the increasing pressure at her core.

"Jesus!" he shouted as she clenched her muscles around him. He was close so he moved a hand down to her clit, rubbing it with slow strokes before pinching it and rolling it between his finger and thumb.

She jerked against him as she threw her head back, "Yes! I'm coming...yes...oh god...Ripper!" she yelled as he felt her inner walls spasm around him.

Giles let out a guttural roar as he exploded within her, her walls milking every last drop from him.

He collapsed on top of her, breathing hard as they rode through the after shocks. He kissed her shoulder and neck softly,

"I love you" he breathed in her ear.

"After that I should hope so" she said turning her head and smiling at him.

He chuckled and captured her lips, kissing her sweetly as he looked into her eyes.

"Mmm I love you more" she said, whimpering as he slid out of her.

When he disappeared into their bathroom she slipped out of her shoes and crawled up to the pillows, flopping over onto her back feeling thoroughly fucked. She knew this was just a reprieve in his planned evening, they hadn't even had dinner yet and she was starving now.

"Are you hungry my love?" he asked coming back to the bed.

She opened her eyes and saw him looking at her, his eyes traveling hungrily up and down her body, she smiled and raised her knee, slowly parting her legs as she did. His eyes darkened and she stretched her leg in the air, pointing her toes at him,

"Very, feed me Seymour" she said grinning up at him as he took her foot in his hands.

"With pleasure my lady" he said as he kissed each toe before kissing her ankle. Releasing her foot he pulled his jeans on, leaving them undone he left the room.

 _Can you get my cellphone from my bag please, I want it close just in case_ she asked him through the bond.

 _Of course, don't go to sleep_ he warned and she giggled.

She slid off the bed and padded over to the bathroom to use the toilet. She saw the candles spread out through the room and smiled at the bath oils sitting on the edge of the bath. She went back to the bed and crawled in under the covers, curling onto her side as she pulled the covers back over herself, burying her head in the pillow.

She had just started to drift off when she heard Giles come back into the room bringing with him the mouth watering smell of Chinese food. She rolled over onto her back and stretched, hearing his groan she opened her eyes and smiled at him,

"Ooh food, gimme" she said reaching out for the bag he had in his hand as she scooted over to give him room on the bed.

"We were supposed to eat this downstairs before I got you into bed" he said as he walked over to her. He put the champagne on the floor next to the bed and took the glasses from his other hand, placing them next to the bottle before handing her the bag of food and her cellphone.

"It's better this way though" she said as she began pulling boxes out and placing them on the bed in front of her.

"I agree" he said as he watched her breasts jiggle with every movement. He dropped his jeans and crawled into bed next to her, kissing along her lower jaw, capturing her mouth in a tender kiss before sitting back against the headboard and taking the chopsticks and duck fried rice from her.

He watched as she tore into an egg roll while she flipped open her cellphone and called the house,

"Summers residence" Xander answered on the fifth ring.

"Hey Xand, how's it going?" she asked around a mouthful of egg roll

"Good, but Alex doesn't seem to want to settle, he's not usually this fussy is he?" he said and she could hear a little whimper over the line.

"No he's not, try a little cooled boiled water with a little honey in it, he might be just gassy" she said frowning, "If he isn't any better in a couple of hours then ring me and we'll come home"

"Sorry Buff"

"No it's okay, it's not your fault, just the fabulous life of parentage that's all"

"Okay, hopefully I'll see you in the morning"

"Yeah, hopefully" she agreed and hung up.

She turned to Giles and sighed, "Alex is fussy and won't settle" she said leaning forward, grabbing the spicy pork noodles,

"We might have to cut the night short" she said regretfully.

He leaned over and tilted her head up, "We could go home now if wish, this can easily be finished there"

She shook her head and leaned forward for a kiss, "No, it's okay, if Xander calls back then we'll have to but let's wait and see first" she said leaning back against him and lifted some noodles from the box.

"Are you sure?"

"Not really but I'm enjoying alone time with you, my mommy alarm isn't going off too loudly yet. He'll be fine, it's probably just gas" she said around her mouthful of food.

"In that case, can I interest you in some champagne?" he said as he leant over the bed and retrieved the glasses and the bottle.

"Yes please" she said with a smile. Taking the glasses from him she held them as he poured, handing him his after he placed the bottle back on the floor.

"To fresh a start and a new home" he said and held up his glass.

She clinked hers against his and said, "And lot's more orgasms" laughing as he choked on the sip he had taken.

He glared at her as she sipped on her champagne but she just raised her eyebrow at him,

"Do you have any objections to that?" she asked as she raised herself onto her knees and moved over him, sitting back on his thighs and indicating he should put his glass down.

Instead he drained it and chucked it behind her on the bed, watching as she sipped hers, lifting herself up before she dipped her finger into the liquid. She let the drop fall from her finger onto her breast just above her nipple. He watched it slide over her skin and catch on the hard peak.

Surging forward he licked off the drop before sucking her nipple into his mouth. She whimpered and emptied her glass, tossing it aside she pushed him back and covered his mouth with hers.

Knowing what she was doing he opened his mouth and she let the champagne pour from her mouth into his waiting for him to swallow before slowly running her tongue over the roof of his mouth as she rotated her hips over his.

He growled and gripped her hips pulling her down onto his erection as he thrust up against her warmth and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along and over hers as he moved her over his erection. She gripped her hands in his hair tearing her mouth from his, moaning as his hand dipped between her legs and inserted a finger,

"So wet already" he moaned as he slid his tongue over her collar bone, sucking hard at the base of her throat as he pressed his thumb against her nub. He smiled smugly against her neck when she growled in frustration when he pulled his hand away and leaned over to grab another condom from the box.

She stopped him and pulled him back up, taking his hand and placing it on her breast she ground her hips down and rotated again,

"Don't need them, I started taking the pill again when I stopped breast feeding" she whispered into his ear before sucking the lobe into her mouth and nibbling on it.

Her hand trailed down his chest sliding into the space between them and onto his cock, she guided it to her core and slowly sank down onto it. Giles groaned when he felt her wet heat against his skin and he bent his head to her breast, trailing his tongue around her nipple before taking it into his mouth and sucking hard, he flicked his tongue over the hard peak as she rose and fell against him.

He gripped her hips as his mouth moved to her throat, bringing her down harder before holding her close and flipping them on the bed, his arm swinging out and brushing the food aside as he planted hot open mouth kisses over her chest and up her neck.

He pulled out and slowly entered her again, loving her body with his hands and mouth as he took his time bringing her to the edge of her release and then stopping, waiting for her to calm down before starting again.

Her whimpers and soft sighs exciting him more than the loud groans as she gripped his ribs and pulled herself up to lick and bite his nipples, making him shudder and moan. Suddenly she was above him having used her slayer strength to flip him on his back,

"My turn" she said breathlessly and sat back sending him deeper, both of them moaning at the sensation.

She looked down into his eyes and rotated her hips, grinning as his eyes rolled back. She began to move, slowly at first and then she laid over him taking his mouth in a deep, passionate kiss as she moved faster, his hands on her hips moving her into a rhythm as he thrust into her. She sat up again and lifted herself off of him, his eyes locked onto the place where they were joined. She slammed back down and he threw his head back a primal growl escaping his throat, she did it again and he lifted his head to look at himself disappear inside her,

"Buffy, I'm close" he said his voice thick with arousal.

She slid back down and moved her hand between her legs to rub her swollen nub, he groaned and began moving his hips in time with her movements, his eyes glued to her hand,

"That's it love, touch yourself" he moaned as her hand moved to her breast and began pinching at her nipple.

He held her still and began pumping into her as fast as he could, loving the noises he was able to bring out of her. She stopped touching herself and fell forward bracing her hands either side of his head as she pushed back against his thrusts.

He captured her mouth and swallowed her scream as he felt her clamp down around him, he thrust once, twice more then threw his head back,

"Fuck, Buffy!" he shouted his release.

She sat back and rode him over the wave of pleasure, pinching at his nipples and gripping his cock with her inner muscles, encouraging him on, not stopping as she came again, more powerfully than the first, white lights exploding behind her eyes. He pulled her down to his mouth, thrusting his tongue into her as he felt another orgasm tighten his balls and he emptied himself inside of her hot clenching channel, moaning into her mouth before collapsing back against the bed breathing hard.

She lay on his chest with a satisfied smile on her face,

"Can I just say….wow" she said as he rolled them both to the side.

"You can, you can also say bloody unbelievable" he said with a chuckle, brushing her damp hair from her face and pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Mmm, definitely of the amazing" she said then yawned, "Sleepy now though"

He chuckled and pushed himself up on his elbow, "Shall we have a bath first love?"

"Yeah, that's sounds good right now" she said wrinkling her nose and wiggling. She slid off the bed and walked into the bathroom to grab a tissue and start the bath. Giles closed the lids of the boxes and put them back into the bag, the glasses went back next to the ice bucket.

He was just about to join Buffy when her phone rang.

He lent over the bed to retrieve it from it's position under the pillow and opened it,

"Is everything okay Xander?" he asked.

"Not really" he heard two cries in the background, "Dani's started up now, I think they're sensing magic again, remember Melinda said they were extra fussy when Will was using all that magic plus I think they have a temperature, they're a little warm"

"You might be right about the magic" Giles replied as he thought about the implications if it was true, "We'll be home in half an hour" he said and hung up.

"Buffy love?" he called as he turned around. He jumped when he saw her standing there with the food in one hand and her shoes in the other, her bra already on.

"I heard, get your clothes on and I'll meet you downstairs" she said and walked away.

Sighing he pulled his jeans on then sat on the bed to put his shoes and socks on. He paused at the door, putting the ice bucket and glasses on the floor he muttered a few words in Latin and clapped his hands, the room reverted to the state it had been in before they had arrived and he left to help Buffy gather the rest of their things.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had arrived home in less than ten minutes, Buffy rushing in and straight upstairs for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Giles deposited their things on the dining room table and went to help Xander.

"I'm sorry Giles, I tried the boiled water and honey but it didn't work. I tried everything I knew to do but I think they just want Buffy, see, Alex usually calms for you but he's still fussing" Xander said as he walked around with Dani, gently bouncing her.

"Hmm perhaps you're right, he doesn't usually fuss like this. I wonder what they're sensing?" he said thoughtfully as he tucked his sons head under his chin and began to hum softly.

That was when Xander noticed his wedding ring.

"Why are you wearing a wedding ring?" he asked staring as Giles smiled, his eyes shining with happiness.

"The week you, Anya, Willow and Tara went to the beach, the summer after Adam" Buffy said as she came into the room, rubbing her hair with a towel, her own rings glittering in the light of the living room, "Giles and I couldn't come because of a Watcher Slayer thing, remember?"

"Yeah...that was the Watcher Slayer thing?!" he said his jaw dropping open in shock.

"Yep, we were in Vegas getting hitched, had booked it a few months before when we knew what you guys were planning so we could spend the week in bed" she said laughing as his face screwed up and he gagged.

"Could've done without that information" he said as she took Dani from him and moved to the lazy boy in the corner.

Giles looked at her and a warmth settled over him, she was wearing her tartan flannel pajama bottoms with a navy blue tank top, her feet bare and her face scrubbed clean leaving no trace of the sex kitten he had had in bed half an hour before. She looked even more beautiful to him and his heart swelled with the love he felt for her.

She sat down and reclined the chair settling Dani over her chest and tucking her head under her chin, shushing her as she rubbed her back.

"Giles lay Alex on me please" she said holding her arm out for him.

He did as she asked and stepped back, watching in awe as she started humming a tune he vaguely remembered from one of their video nights with the rest of the scoobies.

Xander stood beside him, looking between them as she started singing.

"Come stop your crying  
It will be alright  
Just take my hand  
Hold it tight"

The children, who were whimpering and twitching against her, immediately stilled as she sang, stroking their heads and backs.

"I will protect you  
From all around you  
I will be here  
Don't you cry"

She kissed each of them and shifted them a little closer together. She rested her cheek on Dani's head and gently brushed her fingers over Alex's cheek and continued.

"For ones so small,  
You seem so strong  
My arms will hold you,  
Keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us  
Can't be broken  
I will be here  
Don't you cry"

"Now would you look at that. It took three verses of a song from a Disney film and she's settled them, won't be long until they're asleep" Xander said, awe in his voice as he watched the scene before him.

"She's truly amazing" Giles said and Xander turned his head to watch his friend, a smile on his face, while Buffy continued to sing in her soft voice.

"'Cause you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more"

"So, you wanna tell me how none of us figured out you two were married for two years?" Xander asked turning towards him.

"We thought we had managed to keep that part of our relationship from you, now I know that after a year together you lot found out anyway" Giles said looking at him over his glasses. "We had chosen to keep us a secret simply because we didn't want to be put under a microscope, after the wedding we didn't wear the rings and I kept them and our marriage license under lock and key in my lock box. Of course if we had known that you lot knew, I could have given her the wedding she wanted with all of you there" Xander just grinned at him and turned back to watch as Buffy finished.

"You'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be here in my heart, always"

The twins were now asleep, each had a hand curled against her arms and were holding onto each other as well, as Buffy continued to hum and rub circles on their backs, her own eyes closed. Soon the humming faded to be replaced by her deep even breaths and her hands stilled as she fell asleep.

"Is it me or are they glowing?" Xander said squinting his eyes at the three sleeping figures in the chair and the faint glow of a pure white light that seemed to emanate from them.

Giles stared in disbelief as he saw what Xander did, "Y...yes they are, it's...I believe...it may be a protection of s..some sort" he said pulling his glasses from his face and rubbing his eyes.

Replacing his glasses he walked towards them and gently placed a hand over each of his childrens hands, making sure he was in contact with Buffys skin as well and felt a surge of love and a desire to protect. He let go and felt the sensation leave him, he looked back at Xander who was staring at them a mixture of fear and disbelief,

"Xander come here, I want to see if my theory is correct" he said gesturing him to step forward.

He came hesitantly and, at Giles' indication placed a hand over Dani's, his fingers against Buffys skin. Giles placed his hand over Alex's and then grabbed Xanders hand, watching him as he felt the surge again. He knew that Xander felt it when he gasped and looked up at him, his eyes glistening.

They let go and moved away silently, leaving the room neither of them could take their eyes off of the sight in the chair.

"What the hell was that?" Xander said in a hushed voice, "What I felt, it was…."

"Love" Giles said leaning against the island in the kitchen, "The purest kind of love there is, the love of a child for it's mother" he looked up at Xander, his own eyes rapidly filling with moisture, "the love a child has for it's family"

"And the protection thing, they want to protect us too?" Xander said wiping at his eyes. He had never felt that before and it unsettled him that he may not ever feel it again.

"Undoubtedly, I need to look into this, talk to Anya as well as the coven" he took his glasses off again and tossed them on the side, rubbing his eyes.

"I've never seen or heard of that happening before. Although the prophecy said I would have two children with magic, I never thought it would mean a power like that" he said pointing through the wall into the other room.

Xanders eyes widened, "They're that powerful? At two months old?!"

"Exactly, my magic responded to theirs, I felt their power and for them to manifest it like this it means somethings happened, something big and that does not bode well for us" Giles said picking his glasses up and looking at the clock.

"Xander, would you mind terribly if I asked you to go to the magic box and get the books that are boxed up?"

"All of them?" Xander asked a little horrified at the prospect of lugging nearly twenty boxes filled with books across town.

"No, no I wouldn't ask that, just the ones that are labeled magic, they're all to do with magic users and spells and such, if I need more then I will go myself" Giles said laying a hand on his shoulder and giving him an understanding smile.

"Sure thing, I won't be long" Xander said walking quickly to the door, pausing in the door way to the kitchen he looked back at him "This is big isn't it, I mean mega big, change the world big"

"Possibly, although I am more worried about what caused them to manifest, especially given how upset they were tonight"

"Got it. Possible big bad on the way. I'll be right back with your books" he left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Giles moved to the phone and called Anya, apologising for the late hour he asked if she would mind coming to the house as soon as possible, that he needed her opinion and to pick her mind about something. Reluctantly she agreed and a few seconds later she was there in front of him.

"What is it Giles?" she asked, annoyed.

"Come with me" he said and moved back into the living room. Gesturing to Buffy and the twins he asked,

"Have you ever seen this before?"

"What's happening?" she asked stepping closer, gasping when the light flared briefly then faded again.

"I don't know but lay your hand over Dani's, make sure you're touching Buffys skin as well" he said doing what he told her to do.

She did as he asked then took the hand he offered her and gasped as she felt what he and Xander had felt, she let go and backed away with tears in her eyes.

"That's white magic" she said wiping at the tears that had fallen, "Your children are white magi's, powerful little buggers too and for them to manifest their gifts at this age then something truly evil must be coming"

"Why do you say that?" Giles asked guiding her back to the kitchen when Buffy stirred, the children mirroring her.

"Didn't you feel it?" she asked looking up at him, "You must have felt it, the power there, the goodness of it, why was I included? I'm a demon, they should have blocked me"

"The flare of the light" Giles said staring off into space, "They must have sensed the demon in you but included you as part of the family when they realized it was you and that you posed no threat"

"I'm part of the family?" she muttered, surprised and pleased to be included.

"Of course you are, silly girl" Giles said affectionately giving her shoulder a squeeze.

She saw the ring and smiled, "You're finally telling everyone then" she said gesturing to his ring.

"Y..yes…..you knew?!" he asked in surprise.

"Of course, I have a friend who meets vengeance out on married men, she came to me asking why Buffy wouldn't let her in after you left and I told her she was wrong, that you weren't married and she just said 'they are, why won't she ask for vengeance'" she said looking at him with a knowing grin.

"I told her about everything you've been through together and that no matter how much you hurt each other, willingly or not, you would never allow anyone else to hurt the other, she gave up and moved on to the next job"

Giles' mouth was hanging open in shock, he closed it with a snap and looked away swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat at Anya's words,

"I hurt her that much when I left?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Anya wasn't sure whether he had asked her or just voiced the question aloud but she answered him anyway,

"Are you telling me that you thought leaving her, your wife, wouldn't hurt her? Did you really think that she wasn't there any more, that her feelings were completely shut off?"

"All I know is that she wouldn't let me touch her, she wouldn't let me help her except to take the money I offered or to let me take care of things she didn't want to face not to mention her running off to see bloody Angel as soon as he called" he hissed angrily, "I didn't want to leave but I couldn't bare to watch her suffer, my heart couldn't take any more pain at watching her walk through life as a mere shadow of what she once was"

"Men! You're all the fucking same! You call yourself Watcher but you never saw her did you? You never actually looked at her 'cause if you had you would have seen the love in her eyes when she looked at you, you would have seen her pain for what it was and not what you thought it was" she said stepping up to him and pointing at him,

"We all thought that she was in hell but if any of us had looked at her properly we would have realized that her pain wasn't due to where she was when she was dead but due to where she was after we brought her back" she stepped back and began to pace,

"I would watch her after you left, I could see it when she was thinking of you, could see the tears well up in her eyes, the sad little half smiles before you opened up that bond again, and another thing" she said whirling on him, "She nearly died when you shut that thing off, she went through all of Sunnydale actively hunting the demons and vampires, using her senses to find them all. We didn't find out until she came in with Dawn after school three days later, she headed straight to the training room and destroyed three punching bags venting her frustrations"

She sat on a stool glaring at him, "She had this haunted look on her face worse than when she first came back, Dawn said she got in after the sun had come up and cried herself sick in the shower every morning. You should've seen Xanders face, even Willows and Taras, we didn't know she was pregnant at that point but we were still worried about her. Dawn was terrified, we all were. That was the worst three days I can remember having since she died. When I told her you had called…." she stopped talking and swallowed. Looking down at the counter and her hands.

"Dear lord" he whispered his heart clenching painfully in his chest and his stomach dropped to the floor as he listened to Anya tell him what had happened.

"She was in the training room demolishing another bag when I told her…..I think she stopped breathing for a second because she fainted. I screamed and ran to her, Xander came rushing in, picked her up and laid her on the couch. Turns out she hadn't been sleeping, patrolling all night instead, Willow says it must have been a combination of shock and exhaustion that made her pass out. That was when Xander stopped taking your phone calls, I'd never seen him that mad before"

She looked up at him and saw the pain on his face, the tears in his eyes, and decided to try and sooth him,

"She loves you, more than I ever imagined it was possible to love someone. When you were both talking again, I asked her why she had forgiven you so easily" she smiled at him and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"And what did she say" he managed to say, wiping at his face with a handkerchief.

"I quote, 'He's the other half of me, without him I'm empty, cold. He brings light into my world of darkness, he's the sun, the moon and the stars to me, why wouldn't I forgive him? He only did what he thought he needed to do, what he thought he had to do'" her smile widened when he blushed and a look of wonder passed over his face.

"I was amazed too but she looked at me with this puzzled look when I asked and as she was talking I could see the change come over her, the light that shone from her eyes was dazzling, I had that with Xander" she finished quietly.

"You still have that with Xander Anya" he said. Clearing his throat, "He went about it the wrong way admittedly but he thought he was saving you from ending up like his parents"

"I know" she looked up at him, "Do you think we could have that again?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes I think so but you need to actually talk to him which neither of you are ready for right now" he said kindly.

He was still reeling from her rant, he had never thought him leaving would hurt Buffy like that. In all honesty when he first returned to England he had doubted their marriage could survive but one look at her picture, the one he had taken of her the morning after the wedding, laying in bed on her front smiling sleepily over at him, her hair wild from the night before and her ring shining on her hand in the early morning light, he couldn't do it. He had known on some level that he would go back to her and he couldn't imagine even asking a lawyer about a divorce.

"You reek of sex, is that what you were doing tonight?" Anya asked taking her hand back and sitting up.

"Uh...yes, as a matter of fact I had, uh, planned a whole night alone with her" he said taking his glasses off and polishing them.

"Wow Giles, wouldn't have guessed you could keep up with a Slayer" Anya said impressed.

"Yes, well. Can we, uh, talk about something else please" he said picking up the kettle and moving it to the sink to fill it.

Placing it on the hob he stood there staring at the wall, his mind a tangle of thoughts, Anyas revelation had solidified the knowledge that he should never have left, that he should have been strong enough to be there for her, been what ever she had needed and not run from her.

"What are you going to do with the twins?" she asked breaking into his thoughts as she stood up and moving back towards the living room.

"With them?" he asked slipping his glasses back on and following her with a frown on his face.

She stopped and stared at the glowing threesome, a soft look on her face that he had never seen before,

"Well yeah, do we leave them there or do we wake her up and put them back to bed?" she said looking at him with a confused look on her face, "What did you think I meant?"

"I thought you might mean about their power?"

"Nothing to do. A white magi isn't like a witch. A witches power can be either light or dark depending on the power they call or the spells they use or even the intent behind the spells. A White magi is inherently good, they are incapable of performing dark rights, spells, curses blah blah blah, you get what I'm saying" she said sitting on the couch waving a hand at him.

"So they won't misuse their power, rebel as it were?" he asked sitting in the armchair as he gazed fondly on his wife and children.

"Like you did you mean" Anya said bluntly.

He looked at her and gave her a stiff smile, "Yes quite"

"Nope, their power isn't like that, although they can cast spells and will eventually be able to control it, it's mainly instinctual like that, notice how they're touching each other and Buffy? And when we touch them too we're added to the protection?" she said pointing at them.

"Yes?"

"Well, and I'm guessing here so don't take my word on it, I think it's not so much them as it is their power. They sense something that scares them, their power reacts to it. At this age they want comfort, they want their mom when their scared or upset so it's only natural instinct at this point. I don't know Giles, I've never encountered it I've only ever heard of it" she said slumping back.

"Well I know more than I did half an hour ago and Xander will be back shortly with some books that might help," he paused and stood up heading to the kitchen when the tea kettle whistled leaving Anya to stare at the scene in front of her.

He came back a few seconds later to ask if she wanted anything to drink just as Xander opened the front door, a box of books in his arms. Giles rushed forward and took it from him, placing it on the table he turned to the door and joined Xander at the car taking two more from him.

Once they had deposited the boxes on the table he turned to him, "Thank you for that Xander and thanks to Anya I know where to start looking" he said gesturing to her sitting on the couch where she was still sat staring at Buffy and the twins.

He frowned when he noticed the look of speculation on her face, "What is it Anya?"

She frowned then looked up, her eyes widening slightly when she saw Xander standing there as well, "When Buffy was pregnant, the twins would heal her if her blood was spilled while on patrol" she stopped waiting for them to get it.

"Oh shit!" Xander said smacking his hand on his forehead.

"Exactly, would that happen now that they're out of the womb or not?" Anya said with a smile, surprised that it was Xander that had caught on first.

"Would you two please explain to me what is going on" Giles said looking between them an exasperated look on his face.

Xander nodded to Anya to continue. She looked at Giles then back at the twins,

"Well, the babies would heal her and then a few hours later they would grow because they had used their magic so I was wondering..."

"If the same pattern would continue….of course!" Giles said and rushed back to the table and began digging through the boxes, pulling books out and piling them around him.

"Should we help?" Xander asked Anya, pleased that she hadn't lashed out at him so far.

"I think we should, finding out your kids are just as freaky as your wife can't be easy" she said standing up.

"I heard that" came Giles' voice from behind a tower of books.

Xander just grinned at Anya and went into the kitchen to finish making the tea and a coffee each for him and Anya.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Epilogue

It had been a strange couple of weeks. First the twins did indeed age but it was slower than it was while she was pregnant. Over the course of a week they aged six months, Giles said it seemed to be equal to the amount of power they use like when they healed Buffy from the womb it was a simple healing so the ageing process wasn't as extreme, the glowing bubble was a serious show of power so the ageing process reflected that.

The working theory is that if they use the power like they have been, instinctively, then by the time they're a year old they could be at least three and Buffy was worried about them ageing that fast. Thankfully the council had situated a doctor at Sunnydale General and he was in charge of their medical care, at least they wouldn't have to explain to a normal doctor why they had suddenly aged from two to eight months old.

So now they had eight month old twins to contend with as they moved house. Xander installed a child proof lock on the weapons chest he had given her for her birthday and Giles had baby proofed everything. There were child locks on all the lower cupboards and the fridge in the kitchen, all the cabinets in the living room plus all the corner guards and the child lock on the toilet seat.

Xander had built a play pen for them, three sides had bars with blocks attached and three sides were plain bars, Dani and Alex loved it and Buffy loved it especially after having to do some fancy footwork three days ago when she almost stepped on Dani carrying the laundry basket from the kitchen to the stairs. Baby gates were now at the top and bottom of the stairs after Dani, also dubbed Gremlin by Dawn who was now back from their dads, had shown an interest in climbing them.

They were advanced for eight months old but Buffy was blaming Giles for that as he seemed to have taken it upon himself to take every piece of advice from the baby books to heart and had encouraged them with their crawling. He was loving every minute he spent with them, reading and singing to them at bedtime, playing with them when he wasn't researching their power but now he had to go back to England.

The coven had contacted him and asked for his assistance with Willow who was proving to be a difficult case for them and they thought that he would be able to provide her some guidance due to their history. He had also asked if the coven could look into the twins magic with him hoping they would know something about it or have something in their archives that would help them understand their children's rather unexpected gift.

So Buffy was standing in the airport with Xander, Dawn and the twins to see him off. He had already hugged Xander and Dawn, rather awkwardly as they each had hold of a wriggling baby. He had tickled, hugged and kissed each of the twins and was now standing with Buffy, completely oblivious to everyone else as they said goodbye.

"You're sure you'll be back soon?" Buffy asked as she fought the tears that were threatening to fall her arms wrapped around his waist as she stared up at him.

"It won't take long and I'll be back with you, I promise" he said softly looking down at her.

"You said that before and it took you six months to come back and then you showed up all god like when Willow went Psycho Wicca on us" she grumbled burying her head in his chest, the tears finally winning the fight and soaking into his sweater.

"I won't be gone that long again my love and we still have our bond" he held her tighter not wanting to leave her again no matter how necessary it was.

"S'not the same" she said her voice raspy with the effort not to sob.

"I know" he sighed and pushed her back a little so he could tilt her face up to his. Bending, he kissed her tenderly as he brushed her tears away with his thumbs. Neither of them meant to take the kiss further but the pain of the separation and the not so unreasonable fear that they would never see each other again had them putting everything they felt into that kiss. They only pulled back from each other when they heard Dawn gagging dramatically behind them.

"Dudes come on, there are children present" Xander whined.

They both chuckled wetly as they looked back at them,

"Maybe you should cover your eyes then Xander" Buffy said grinning at his frown.

"Harsh Buff, way too harsh" he said glaring at her as Dawn and Alex giggled at each other.

Giles' flight was called and he bent to pick up his carry on, not needing anything else as he had left his things in England when the coven teleported him here. He kissed Buffy again and held her tightly in his arms, not wanting to let go.

"I love you" he whispered, his lips against her ear.

"Love you more Ru" she mumbled into his neck.

With one final squeeze they let go of each other and he walked over to the security gate, Xander and Dawn walking up and standing beside her with the children on their hips. He looked back and waved, the last thing he sees is his little family waving back with smiles on their faces and a hope for the future erupted fierce and strong inside his heart.

He turned away with a smile on his face as the knowledge that everything was going to be okay made leaving a little easier.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two months later.

 _Spike's back and he's acting like a mental patient_ Buffy told Giles when she got back from the new high school.

The twins hadn't used there gift since Giles had left so they had aged naturally meaning they were even more of a handful for Buffy as they had inherited their fathers thirst for knowledge and Buffys curiosity.

She heard Giles' growl in response to her news and she smiled.

 _Fucking pillock best not lay a finger on you or I'll stake the wanker_

 _Don't worry sweetie, I'll be fine. Oh I got offered a job today, school counsellor but I think the principals a bit dodgy, he gave me a vibe._

 _A vibe? Did your uh, spidey sense go off by any chance?_

She giggled at his use of her term for her supernatural radar as she lifted the spoon of mashed carrot and suede to Dani's waiting mouth.

 _No nothing like that, it was just the way he kinda already knew about me but I took the job any way_

 _Why if you get a 'vibe' off of him and why school counsellor? If you think he already knows you then why is he giving you a position where you can influence the minds of teenagers?_ She heard the laugh in his head and frowned as she gave Alex some more of the carrot mixture.

 _Coz I wanna keep an eye on him and he said I would help with the troubled kids and if you're gonna mock my new job then no touching when you get back mister, you can just watch me have some fun_

 _Really luv, that's not much of a punishment now is it_ he said slipping into his Ripper voice.

 _It is if I tie you up so you can't touch yourself either_ she grinned at the growl he gave in response as she handed some toast to the twins, laughing when they squealed in delight at them while squishing them in their tiny fists.

 _What are you laughing at love?_

 _The twins are currently squishing toasted soldiers into their trays_ she sent him a mental image of them.

 _They're getting so big._ He said and she could hear the smile in his voice, _what are you going to do with them while you're at work, is Melinda still available?_

 _Yeah she is and as I'm only working two days a week, ten till two, it's not so bad. I started Dawns training last night, she did pretty well for her first time._

 _Good, tell her I'm proud of her. Did anything happen out of the ordinary at the high school today_

 _God yes, it's open one day and weird ghost things attacked Dawn and two other kids._

 _Is she okay? What weird ghost things?_

 _Yeah she's fine and Spike said they were manifest spirits raised to seek vengeance. I fought them off while Xander went for the talisman. All sorted._

 _So just your usual day on the Hellmouth then. What are you going to do about Spike?_

 _Leave him where he is. He's crazy Giles and I mean full on talking-to-the-walls-in-desperate-need-of-a-padded-room crazy. I'll keep an eye on him but I only think he's a danger to himself._

 _And if he becomes a danger to everybody else?_

 _Then he gets the sharp end of a stake, don't worry okay. How's Will doing? When are you coming home? I miss you and the kids miss their Daddy, bedtimes not the same._

 _She's doing much better, she's learning control and dealing with what she did. She wanted me to thank you for sending that picture of Dani and Alex, it's helped her focus. Hopefully I'll be home soon, I miss you all as well._

 _What about the kids power, have you learnt anything yet?_

 _Only what we already know, the coven is baffled at the rapid ageing and think it maybe unique to them. I'm heading to the council in the next week or so to gain access to their libraries, I'm hoping I'll find something there._

 _Okay sweetie, slap Travers for me, give Willow our love and I'll talk to you tomorrow, the twins are about ready for nap time and I need to do the chores before I can start dinner._

He was chuckling as she finished, _I'll certainly enjoy passing on your message to Travers,_ _kiss the kids for me and I'll tell Willow too. I love you._

 _I love you too_

She watched the twins eating and playing with their toast for a few more minutes as she washed the dishes in the sink. When they started to get frustrated and throw it on the floor she picked it up and removed their trays before wiping their faces with a damp cloth. She picked up Dani's pacifier, putting it on her finger, she unbuckled her, picked her up and took her into the living room to lie her down in the travel cot for a nap. She then went back for Alex and laid him opposite his sister before moving around the room picking up their toys while they drifted off.

The day passed as normal, Xander came home for dinner and played with the twins. He had given up his lease on his apartment and moved in with them after he had soundproofed Buffy and Giles' bedroom. It had made sense as Buffy would have needed him to stay to watch the kids until she had finished patrol anyway. Plus it made her feel better knowing he was across the hall and not on his own across town.

Dawn did her homework and threw a fit over Buffy working at the school, mortified as only a teenager could be at having her big sister 'on her turf' as she put it.

Buffy and Dawn bathed the twins and put them to bed, now in their own room and in cots that Xander had built for them, while Xander washed up the dinner stuff. They sat and watched the tele for a bit before Buffy sent Dawn up to bed and she headed out for a patrol.

Everything was normal for a change and Buffy had relaxed into it, enjoying the mundane routine of everyday life. She should have known it wouldn't last.

That night she was woken up by a girl screaming to find Dawn leaning over her and calling her name.

"Buffy! Buffy!" Dawn was shaking her a worried look on her face.

"I heard screaming" Buffy said as she looked around her room in confusion.

"Yeah, that was you"

"There was a girl"

"That would be me" Dawn was looking at her like she'd lost the plot now.

"Uh, no. It was..." Buffy sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was equal parts worried, confused and scared and she didn't know why.

"Just a dream. It was just a dream, right?" Dawn asked fearfully. She knew about her sisters prophetic dreams and the way Buffy was acting made her think it was one of those that she had woken up from.

"From beneath you it devours. That's what she said right before they….There's more like her Dawn, out there somewhere. Running and scared" she got up off the bed and moved to the window. Dawn followed as Buffy crossed her arms and stared out at the street below, frowning sadly,

"And they're all gonna die"


End file.
